Joe Dean, a 32-year-old Englishman ranked 268th in the world and a full-time DP World Tour member, won the inaugural Last-Chance Qualifier on Monday at Royal Birkdale Golf Club to claim the 156th and final spot in the Open Championship field.
This one-day, 18-hole winner-take-all event featured 12 players who had narrowly missed out through earlier qualifying pathways (such as Final Qualifying or the Genesis Scottish Open). It was introduced by the R&A to add excitement to the Open’s first practice day.
Dean shot a 2-under-par 68, finishing one stroke ahead of Andrew Wilson (69) and two ahead of Aldrich Potgieter (even-par 70). He stayed patient early, making pars on the first six holes before birdieing the par-3 7th. He added another birdie at the 11th.
A crucial eagle on the par-5 14th moved him to 3 under, though he bogeyed the par-3 15th after going over the green. He parred the final three holes, including an up-and-down par on the 18th to secure the win.
Potgieter needed a birdie on 18 to tie and force a playoff but the South African bogeyed from a greenside bunker, confirming Dean’s victory.
Dean, a former delivery driver for Morrison’s grocery chain during the COVID-19 pandemic (a job he held for nearly four years), qualified via DP World Tour Q-School in 2023. He has prior Open experience (T70 at Royal Birkdale in 2017; T25 at Royal Troon in 2024) and recently had strong DP World Tour results like T9 at the BMW Championship. His girlfriend Emily caddied for him; the couple is set to marry on July 21 — a date chosen because it was “cheaper,” he joked.
He had lost in a playoff at Final Qualifying earlier, making this last-chance opportunity especially meaningful.
Dean’s win earned him a spot alongside stars like Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and others at Royal Birkdale this week. As a local favorite, he received warm applause from the home crowd upon finishing.
