TORONTO, Ont. – Keith Mitchell already had a special connection to St. Andrews, and now he’ll get to experience The Open Championship at the storied venue.
Mitchell and Wyndham Clark earned spots at the 2022 Open via their final position on the leaderboard at the RBC Canadian Open, part of the Open Qualifying Series.
Mitchell and Clark finished tied for seventh. The top 8 on the leaderboard – not otherwise qualified for St. Andrews – would have been in the mix for a spot.
For Mitchell, he’s made a bit of a habit out of earning Open Championship spots via the qualifying series. This marks the third in a row for Mitchell via the series, with the previous two coming at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.
“Extremely happy,” said Mitchell of his overwhelming emotion after his spot was confirmed. “I mean it's the birthplace of golf. It's where everything started. It's got the most probably respect of really of the game because that's where it was founded.”
Mitchell’s older sister went to school there and he said he’s played St. Andrews “a bunch.” It’s been about a decade since he’s been back, but he said he remembers every hole.
“I remember my dad took me over when I was probably 10 years old. And that really opened my eyes to the game of golf. If you're a 10-year-old getting to play that place, it's -- I'm very fortunate, very lucky -- but it's a life-changing experience to the point where I can stand here now and say that I'm going to play in the Open Championship there,” said Mitchell, who said he watched Tiger Woods win in 2000 there as an 8-year-old “non-stop.”
“It's just something that is so unique in golf and so amazing that it's just something that, as a kid, you dream to be there.”
Mitchell shot a 4-under 66 Sunday at the RBC Canadian Open. His tie for 7th was his fourth top-10 result of the year.
Clark, meanwhile, shot a 1-under 69 to notch his second top-10 of the year.
He was the 18-hole leader at the RBC Canadian Open and was firmly in the mix Sunday afternoon until an unfortunate stretch late on his back nine saw him go 5-over for his final five holes.
This will, however, be Clark’s first Open Championship start and his fourth career major.
He didn’t let a poor finish at St. George’s blur what will be an excellent experience across the pond.
“All in all, a great week and qualifying for my first Open Championship's awesome,” said Clark. “It's just a cherry on top, even though I finished poorly it just makes the day seem a lot better.”
There are six more events to come as part of the Open Qualifying Series.
Former Claret Jug winner Rory McIlroy defended his title at the RBC Canadian Open, topping Tony Finau by two shots.
McIlroy now has a chance to win golf’s Triple Crown – the RBC Canadian Open, the U.S. Open, and The Open all in the same year.
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June 13, 2022 at 06:01AM
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Keith Mitchell, Wyndham Clark earn spots at The Open thanks to strong finishes at RBC Canadian Open - PGA TOUR
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