NORTH BERWICK, Scotland – Kurt Kitayama’s consolation prize for a close match at the Genesis Scottish Open is a tee time at St. Andrews for the 150th Open.
As runner-up at the Renaissance Club, Kitayama won one of the three available spots at St. Andrews through the Open Qualifying Series. Former Ryder Cup hero Jamie Donaldson and another TOUR rookie, Brandon Wu, won the other two.
“After my two previous attempts, now the goal is to try to make the cut,” said Kitayama, who moved to 41st in the FedExCup with his third top-3 finish of the season. “It’s just a different type of golf and you have to adapt.”
The Open spots went to the top three finishers in the Genesis Scottish Open, who are no longer exempt from The Open as long as they also finish in the top 10 of the rankings.
Trey Mullinax also qualified for The Open Championship by winning the Barbasol Championship on Sunday when he edged Kevin Streelman by one stroke after birdieing the 72nd hole.
Kitayama finished just one shot behind Genesis Scottish Open winner Xander Schauffele after shooting a 66 to take the club lead at 6 under. Kitayama, a two-time winner on the DP World Tour, will be making his third appearance at the Open.
Donaldson used three back nine birdies to finish T6. The 46-year-old Welshman thought the par-5 16th might prove costly, but he did enough to secure a seventh appearance at The Open and his first since 2016. He tied for 49th in the last Open at St. Andrews in 2015.
“It’s fantastic to be able to play against St Andrews again,” said Donaldson, who scored the European point to win the 2014 Ryder Cup. “It’s tough knowing you have to post a score to get to The Open.”
Donaldson and Wu both shot 67s on Sunday to jump 15 spots into a tie for sixth. Wu finished more than two hours ahead of the leaders and watched the players battle through the difficult closing hole at the Renaissance Club. Rasmus Hojgaard and Alex Smalley carded 18 to allow Wu to secure his second Open appearance.
Wu also played in the 2019 Open after traveling to Scotland to qualify. He became the first amateur to qualify for both the US Open and the Open Championship since Joe Carr of Ireland in 1967.
“It’s honestly so amazing to play in The 150th Open at St. Andrews,” Wu said. “It’s so remarkable to me. I played well today, but I just needed a little help from others at the end.”
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