Kedleston Park is delighted to have been invited by The R&A to host Regional Qualifying for The Open Championship for a third year. The R&A is golf’s governing body and organiser of the sport’s oldest Major, which dates back to 1860 and is contested every July for the world-famous Claret Jug.
After the cancellation of the 2020 Open Championship due to COVID-19 along with a revised qualifying format at the 2021 Open Championship, this year Kedleston Park celebrates the honour of being a host qualifying venue for the 150th Open, taking placing at the iconic Old Course at St. Andrews Links, the Home of Golf.
This year’s Regional Qualifying field for The Open Championship at Kedleston Park is filled with international players, aspiring young professionals and local amateurs, each one competing for their chance to play at St. Andrews this July.
Some of these players include the Spaniard Ivan Ballesteros, the nephew of the famous three-time Open Championship winner, Seve Ballesteros. Young amateur Frank Kennedy (A) will also be competing at the Derbyshire venue, coming off an impressive start to the season which has included the Portuguese Amateur title along with an impressive cut-made at the Hero Open on the DP World Tour last year. Thomas Hamson, the previous 2019 Regional Qualifying winner at Kedleston Park will be in attendance once again, along with other Derbyshire professionals like George Bloor and James Whatley. Representing their home golf club of Kedleston Park, local lads Bradley Moore, Joshua Ashton (A) and Sam Potter (A) will also be competing in this year’s Regional Qualifying event.
In one of the most highly anticipated Open Championship events in recent history, the competition for a place in the 156-man field that will compete for the Claret Jug at The Home of Golf is already heating up. With players from smaller professional tours to elite international amateur golfers and local club pro players, the competition at the 13 Regional Qualifying events across the UK and Ireland will undoubtedly be of the highest quality. All of these competitors will be fighting it out for a spot on the 28th June at one of the four Final Open Qualifying venues in order to secure their spot at this year’s final major championship.
“It’s fantastic for Kedleston Park to be invited by The R&A to host a Regional Qualifying event for The Open Championship for a third time,” said Ian Neal, Chairman of KedlestonPark. “The events in 2018 and 2019 were a tremendous success and we are looking forward to welcoming competitors and spectators to our club again this year. We’re confident they will find our course in excellent condition and presenting a strong challenge. Our members enjoyed being part of The Open Championship experience at the previous Regional Qualifying events and are once again looking forward to seeing some top-level golf played at Kedleston Park.”
The club welcomes any visitors wishing to come and watch play on Monday.