SCHAUFFELE, STREB, LOVEMARK and MUNOZ SECURE OPEN PLACES at GREENBRIER CLASSIC

R and A News Release

White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia: Xander Schauffele, Robert Streb, Jamie Lovemark and Sebastian Munoz have all earned places in The 146^th Open at Royal Birkdale after qualifying at The Greenbrier Classic on Sunday.

The Greenbrier Classic was the second of three US PGA TOUR events which feature in The Open Qualifying Series and four places were available for golf’s most international major championship when it was played at The Old White TPC.

Schauffele finished in style with a birdie at the last to top the field on 14-under-par and win his first US PGA Tour  event in the West Virginia sunshine. He will now make his debut at The Open and look to build on the form he produced in the US Open at Erin Hills last month when he  tied for fifth place in his rookie year.

The 23-year-old, who has never been to Europe, signed for a three-under-par 67. Shauffele made an early start with a birdie at the first and added another at the eighth to reach the turn on two-under-par. A bogey at the 11^th did not derail the Californian and he struck again at the 16^th and 18^th to secure his maiden title and first trip to the UK.

Streb will play in The Open for a third consecutive time, having finished in the second qualifying spot. A tied 18^th finish at St Andrews in 2015 is the American’s best showing after missing the cut at Royal Troon last year.

Playing with overnight leader Munoz, Streb, who was on two-under-par for the day, suffered a double-bogey at the 13^th hole, which looked likely to harm his chances. However, the one-time US PGA Tour winner recovered with a birdie on the next and posted a final round of 69 to finish the championship on 13-under-par.

Lovemark takes the third qualifying spot but was in trouble early on when he double-bogeyed the par four 1^st hole. He gained a stroke back with a birdie at the 4^th and added further birdies on the back nine at the 11^th, 13^th and 16^th. His final scorecard read 69 following a bogey at the 15^th  but that was enough to end the day in joint third place and book his place at The Open.

The Open is played from 16-23 July at Royal Birkdale.

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