{"id":692282,"date":"2026-07-15T03:14:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T03:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/692282\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T03:14:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T03:14:16","slug":"soon-to-wed-dean-scores-golden-open-ticket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/692282\/","title":{"rendered":"Soon-to-wed Dean scores golden Open ticket"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"The great Seve Ballesteros (left) and the not-so-great Maurice Flitcroft at Royal Birkdale in 1976 The People, Mirrorpix via Getty Images<\/p>\n

SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND | This week has been primed as a celebration of 50 years since European golf was transformed by the performance of Severiano Ballesteros at Royal Birkdale.<\/p>\n

The return of this year\u2019s championship to the same venue has guaranteed that memories of that long, hot English summer \u2013 and the Spanish flair that flavoured it \u2013 abound.<\/p>\n

But there was more to the 1976 Open than Seve.<\/p>\n

It was also the year that a 46-year-old crane driver who had never played a single 18-hole round of golf attempted to qualify for the Open at Formby Golf Club and what followed made almost as many headlines as Ballesteros did, but for all the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The man\u2019s name was Maurice Flitcroft, he carded a 49-over-par 121, became known as \u201cThe World\u2019s Worst Golfer\u201d and immediately gained infamy or cult hero status (depending upon your point of view).<\/p>\n

How apt, then, that the golden jubilee of Flitcroft\u2019s (non) achievement should be celebrated with this year\u2019s launch of the Open\u2019s new Last-Chance Qualifier.<\/p>\n

It needs swiftly adding that Flitcroft\u2019s legacy and the new venture are not officially connected.<\/p>\n

The R&A secretary of the time, Keith Mackenzie, had no sense of humour whatsoever about Flitcroft. Indeed, the hapless golfer became MacKenzie\u2019s nemesis and \u2013 even allowing for the metaphorical loosening of R&A ties since \u2013 a nod in his direction would be a step too far.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t stop those of us on the outside reflecting on the neatness of the association, however, not least because Flitcroft, at heart, was a romantic. A slightly crazed one, admittedly, but he believed entirely in the notion of dreaming big, and early on Monday morning of Open week 12 men stepped up to the first tee at Royal Birkdale with ambitions of returning there on Thursday.<\/p>\n

On this Monday, however, the fans had a focus and there was a touch of Roald Dahl about it because the dozen golfers had won golden tickets to visit Willy Wonka\u2019s chocolate factory, but which of them would survive the test to come?<\/p>\n

Created to enhance the spectator experience on an Open practice day, the new competition\u2019s small field was drawn together from players who narrowly missed out on automatic qualification.<\/p>\n

It proved to be a shrewd move by the R&A because, while there is an attraction to a practice day, it is also somewhat stymied by the meandering nature of the action that feels a little like a drinks reception that stretches so long into the night everyone wonders if the call to be seated will ever come.<\/p>\n

On this Monday, however, the fans had a focus and there was a touch of Roald Dahl about it because the dozen golfers had won golden tickets to visit Willy Wonka\u2019s chocolate factory, but which of them would survive the test to come?<\/p>\n

Admittedly we were missing Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt and Violet Beauregarde.<\/p>\n

But there was an eclectic cast and each of them possessed a defining trait: the big-hitting South African Aldrich Potgieter, the wild-swinging Spaniard Angel Hidalgo, and the field\u2019s own Mike Teavee \u2013 the YouTube star Wesley Bryan.<\/p>\n

The winner, however, was pure Charlie Bucket given his completely ordinary background.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Englishman Joe Dean took advantage of the last chance to qualify for the 2026 Open at Birkdale.<\/p>\n

Englishman Joe Dean turned pro in 2016 but by March 2020 his career was going nowhere when COVID-19 hit.<\/p>\n

His girlfriend, Emily Lyle, more or less frogmarched him to a supermarket to become a delivery driver and he kept the job for the next three years while competing on minor tours in mostly one-day tournaments.<\/p>\n

In late 2023 a family friend funded a trip to the DP World Tour Qualifying School, he won a card, and spent Christmas and New Year\u2019s still delivering as he saved for his first starts in 2024.<\/p>\n

Concerns about the prospect of rapidly dwindling funds were alleviated when he finished runner-up in his second start at the Kenya Open and he\u2019s been a constant on the tour ever since.<\/p>\n

A 2-under 68 earned him a one-stroke victory in the Last-Chance Qualifier and he was in no doubt that the galleries were more engaged with meaningful action.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey seemed to love it and I even saw Matt Fitzpatrick\u2019s dad out there following my group,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure the crowds were bigger than when I practised ahead of the Open here in 2017. It was great to play 18 with packed grandstands and a significant prize up for grabs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The win did present one problem, however \u2013 he\u2019s getting married next Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Fianc\u00e9e Emily is currently caddying for Dean and admitted there is still much to organise. \u201cI\u2019m one of those people who can\u2019t start preparing things until there\u2019s a deadline due,\u201d she said, adding with admirable understatement: \u201cI think the next few days are going to be quite busy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll sleep in the car if we have to. It has to be cooler than the hotel room we had last night.\u201d \u2013 Joe Dean<\/p>\n

Dean admitted he still has a speech to write. \u201cYou boys write well, don\u2019t you?\u201d he asked of the press. \u201cCan anyone help out?\u201d<\/p>\n

Whereupon Alex Fitzpatrick showed up, assumed the role of reporter, and asked if the Deans had any accommodation for the week.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll sleep in the car if we have to,\u201d said Dean. \u201cIt has to be cooler than the hotel room we had last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a big garden,\u201d said Fitzpatrick. \u201cGot a tent?\u201d<\/p>\n

The fun didn\u2019t end there because a chorus of \u201cJoe Dean, Joe Dean, Joe Deeeean\u201d broke out from a section of fans wearing Dolly Parton shirts.<\/p>\n

They were friends of the 32-year-old, but not his stag party.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a very quiet get together,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not a drinker so eight of us played golf in the Lake District. Very tame.\u201d<\/p>\n

He expects more family and friends to make their way to the course later in the week and they won\u2019t be alone.<\/p>\n

The R&A is expecting record-breaking crowds of more than 300,000 to attend across the week.<\/p>\n

The Last-Chance Qualifier has helped drive those numbers and so, too, did Tuesday\u2019s Heroes Classic \u2013 a three-hole event that featured Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Padraig Harrington as well as AIG Women\u2019s Open champion Miyu Yamashita, 2025 R&A Women\u2019s Amateur champion Paula Martin Sampedro and G4D Open champion Brendan Lawlor.<\/p>\n

Those incentivised crowds will also, of course, make their way through the merchandise tent.<\/p>\n

The new initiatives have fulfilled a dream and provided entertainment, but they also increase revenue.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not all romance.<\/p>\n

RESULTS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2026 Global Golf Post LLC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The great Seve Ballesteros (left) and the not-so-great Maurice Flitcroft at Royal Birkdale in 1976 The People, Mirrorpix…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":692283,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,230426,230427,1899,192927,179865,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-692282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-joe-dean","tag-maurice-filtcroft","tag-open-championship","tag-royal-birkdale","tag-seve-ballesteros","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=692282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/692283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}