Exclusive:
Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood will not feature at this year’s Open Championship at Royal Troon, however their LIV Golf teammate Sam Horsfield will be thanks to Final Qualifying
Sam Horsfield hailed the impact his LIV Golf teammates Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter have had on him both on and off the course, after the Englishman secured himself a spot at The Open through Final Qualifying.
Horsfield was one of four players at West Lancashire who banked themselves a place to play at Royal Troon later this month, shooting five-under-par across his two rounds in testing conditions on the Wirral peninsula. The Englishman was one of a number of LIV stars who turned to qualifying in a bid to compete at the final major championship of the year.
Fellow members Sergio Garcia, Carlos Ortiz and Kieran Vincent all joined Horsfield at West Lancashire in the hopes of qualifying, however the 27-year-old was the only one from the breakaway circuit who made the grade.
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He will be representing Majesticks GC on the major stage, with his teammates, and co-captains, Westwood and Poulter not in this year’s field in Ayrshire. The all-European setup – which also includes Henrik Stenson – has failed to find their best form so far in 2024, as they currently sit 11th out of 13 in the LIV team standings.
Despite this, Horsfield spoke highly of the influence his co-captains have had on his game since making the Saudi switch. “[Westwood and Poulter have massively [helped], and not just on golf course stuff,” he told Mirror Sport at West Lancashire. “Westy over the years has been known as one of the best drivers of a golf ball to every play.
“Then obviously Ian has an unbelievable short game, one of the best I have ever seen. So I am always picking his brain about how to hit certain chips from different lies, hitting pitching wedges, not just the typical American lob wedge you know, play different shots.
“I think he learned some of his stuff from Seve [Ballesteros] so it has sort of made its way down. They are also obviously great company, a great group of guys.” Horsfield has struggled to play his best golf since joining the LIV setup, and spent the majority of the 2023 season on the sidelines through injury.
He appears to have kicked into form at the right time, following a runner-up finish at LIV Nashville last week, by booking his return to the major stage. The trip to Troon falls in the middle of an exciting European swing for the breakaway league, with circuit heading to Valderrama and JCB Country Club either side of The Open.
Unsurprisingly this is a run Horsfield is excited for. “I am looking forward to it,” he added. “I’ve turned my game around in the last few weeks, made a few changes. I feel like my brain is the right place with everything, and then obviously that leads to good golf. It is going to be a great few weeks, the major in the middle of it, it is going to be epic.”
