Matthew Dodd-Berry Secures Open Championship Spot at Royal Troon
Royal Liverpool member Matthew Dodd-Berry finished tied at the top of the leaderboard in Final Qualifying to book his place at this year’s Open Championship at Royal Troon.
He fired two rounds of 69 for a six-under-par total of 138 in very tough, blustery conditions at West Lancashire Golf Club to beat the likes of Liv Tour stars Sergio Garcia and Sam Horsfield.
It comes 12 months after his clubmate Matthew Jordan booked his place to play at the 2023 Open at their home course.
Dodd-Berry watched on with envy then and returned this year determined to avoid the same feeling.
Three bogeys in his first four holes threatened to push him out of contention.
However, the 20-year-old showed tremendous character in trying conditions, with nine birdies, one eagle, and just one further dropped shot enough to secure a place at Royal Troon.
“It’s the greatest moment, it’s everything I’ve worked towards,” said Dodd-Berry.
“I did it a year late – last year would have been great at my home course but I’m really excited to go to Troon.
“I got off to a really rough start and at that point my caddy said ‘just hang in there, you don’t know what’s going to happen.’
“The weather was terrible, so my mentality was just a case of we’ll see what happens.
“I got it back to level and kicked on from there.
“I didn’t look at the scoreboard throughout the day, so I had no idea where I stood.
I played really good golf on the last nine, hung in there, stayed tough, and got it done.
Dodd-Berry, who is one of the latest young stars to cross the pond via the American college system, came close to securing an Open place when reaching the quarter-finals of The Amateur Championship last month.
He was delighted to get over the line this time and repay his dad, Kenny, for all his support.
“My dad has helped me a lot: how he’s taught me to grow up and play the game of golf,” added Dodd-Berry.
The former Wirral Grammar School student said: “He can’t teach me the game but he can teach me mentally and he’s helped me get to the stage where I’m at.
“I can’t wait, I’m ecstatic and can’t wait to get up there.”
Dodd-Berry, who is part way through a golf scholarship at East Tennessee State University, was joined on six-under-par by Sam Horsfield, while Daniel Brown (-5) and Masahiro Kawamura (-5) completed the qualifying quartet.
Garcia missed out after finishing tied sixth on three-under-par.
Delamere Forest’s James Ashfield was only four off qualification on one-under-par.
