STEFANI, HOFFMAN, MARTIN AND STEELE FOR HOYLAKE

FOUR AMERICANS BOOK OPEN

 PLACES THROUGH US PGA TOUR

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE R and A

 Bethesda, Maryland:  Shawn Stefani, Charley Hoffman, Ben Martin and Brendan Steele secured the four places on offer in The Open Championship after the final round of the Quicken Loans National at Congressiona

Stefani lost out to Justin Rose on the first hole of a play-off for the tournament but succeeded in qualifying for The Open at Royal Liverpool from July 17 to 20. 
A closing one-under-par 70 left him on four-under-par for the tournament and level with Rose, who has already qualified for The Open. It will be the 33-year-old Texan’s first appearance in The Open but his second in a Major Championship after he finished tied 59th in the 2013 US Open at Merion.

“I have never been across the pond to play in Europe so I am really looking forward to it,” he said.
 “It is going to be a great experience to play for the first time in The Open Championship. I was just trying to play well and playing well here has put me in the Championship. Now I can put my focus on The Open which is going to be so huge for me. I will take a lot away from it.”

Charley Hoffman finished one shot back on three-under-par after a final round 69 which included three birdies on the back nine.
The 37-year-old from San Diego has two wins on the PGA Tour including the 2010 Deutsche Bank Championship. He has made one appearance in The Open at Carnoustie in 2007 where he finished tied for 35th.

“I’m really excited to have earned my way back into The Open Championship,” he said. “I’m grateful for this format which allowed me to play my way in. The Open will be my first Major of the year so I’m extra-excited about getting to Hoylake in a few weeks.”

On the same mark as Hoffman was Ben Martin, the runner-up in the 2009 US Amateur Championship, who came in with a level-par 71 today. 
The 26-year-old from South Carolina played in two US Opens and The Masters in 2010 as an amateur but this will be his debut in The Open.
“I have never played over there in The Open or the Amateur Championship so it will be a new experience for me and a learning experience,” he said. “I didn’t have it on my schedule yesterday but it is on my schedule now.

“I am very excited because I have never played golf further east than the East Coast of the United States. It is something that I knew would happen in my career eventually so I am excited that it is going to be in two weeks. Hopefully this is just the first of many Open Championships for me.”

Brendan Steele finished on two-under-par for the tournament and secured the final qualifying place thanks to his higher position in the Official World Golf Ranking than Argentinian Andres Romero with whom he tied. Brendon Todd was also on two-under-par but has already qualified for The Open. Steele, who won the Valero Texas Open in 2011 and went on to finish tied 19th in that year’s USPGA Championship, will be making his debut in The Open.

“I’m very disappointed to have finished the Quicken Loans National the way I did today, but the silver lining is that I earned my way into The Open Championship in two weeks,” said the 31-year-old from California.
“It should be a great experience. I have played over there a little bit and am really looking for to competing in this year’s Open Championship.”

The next events in The Open Qualifying Series, which comprises 14 events in nine countries on five continents, are the Greenbrier Classic on the US PGA Tour and the Alstom Open de France on the European Tour from  July 3 to 6 

For more information visit TheOpen.com.