Aberdeen’s David Law has qualified for the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews.
The 31-year-old will be part of perhaps the most-anticipated staging of golf’s oldest Major, having claimed one of three places on offer to those playing in the Irish Open at Mount Juliet Estate over the past four days.
As well being a significant year for the Open, it is also a huge breakthrough for Law – mentored by Aberdeen’s 1999 champion golfer of the year Paul Lawrie – as it will be his first-ever Major appearance.
Law’s five-under final round – and -15 total – meant he finished behind winner Adrian Meronk (-20), of Poland, as well as New Zealand’s Ryan Fox (-17) and South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence (-16) in Ireland.
The top-three were all already Open-bound, meaning the trio who finished behind them on 15-under, Law, American John Catlin and Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti, will all get to tee it up at the Old Course in two weeks’ time.
Congratulations to John Catlin, Fabrizio Zanotti and David Law, who have qualified for The 150th Open courtesy of their performances at the Horizon Irish Open 👏 pic.twitter.com/wQrN2TMYIT
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 3, 2022
Law held the joint-lead at -16 during Sunday’s fourth and final round in County Kilkenny.
However, winner Meronk – playing in the final group and finishing birdie, birdie, eagle, par – made a dropped shot from the Aberdonian on 17 an hour-or-so before less significant when all was said and done, at least when it came to the Irish Open trophy.
What was crucial, however, in Law’s pursuit of Open qualification was a testing 10-footer on the last to save par and keep him at -15.
There was a slight concern Law would still be pipped to a place at St Andrews at the death, as a par for Spaniard Jorge Campillo on 18 would have seen the north-east man miss out.
Had four players finished on -15, the tiebreaker was the players’ world ranking, and Law would have had the lowest ranking.
Ultimately, a topped second saw Campillo bogey the hole and Law’s Open debut was confirmed.
