Poulter vs Poulter: Family Showdown Highlights Open Final Qualifying

Poulter vs Poulter: Family Showdown Highlights Open Final Qualifying

Golf’s greatest fairytale could unfold at Royal Cinque Ports, where Ian Poulter and his son Luke are both teeing it up on Tuesday in a bid to qualify for The Open at Royal Portrush.

In a rare family affair, the Ryder Cup legend and his 21-year-old son will compete against each other — and 70 other hopefuls — for just five available spots at the Kent course. One could knock the other out of golf’s oldest major.

“Had Luke qualified for the US Open, I’d have caddied for him,” Ian said. Now, they’re rivals.

The Field and the Stakes

Across four venues — Royal Cinque Ports, Burnham & Berrow, West Lancashire, and Dundonald Links — 288 players will compete for just 20 places in the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush from 17–20 July.

At Royal Cinque Ports:

• Ian Poulter, 49, seeks a return to The Open for the first time since joining LIV Golf in 2022.

• Luke Poulter, a standout sophomore at the University of Florida, ranked 51st in the world amateur standings, nearly qualified for the US Open last month.

• Graeme McDowell, who grew up in Portrush, is also making a desperate bid to return home.

• Tom Lewis, former amateur Open first-round leader in 2011, joins the group.

• Matt Southgate, Kris Kim, and Tyler Weaver round out the contenders.

‘A Homecoming’ for McDowell

Graeme McDowell, 45, is eyeing a fairy-tale return to his hometown Open. With traditional paths blocked due to LIV affiliation, he’s flown straight from Dallas to compete.

“It’s not the best prep in the world, but I’ll be fired up,” said McDowell.

“With Rory winning the Masters and Shane defending, Portrush will be electric.”

More Notables Across the UK

At Dundonald Links, another LIV veteran, Lee Westwood, will join Jamie Donaldson, Alex Noren, Marc Warren, and Adrian Meronk in search of a last-minute ticket.

Chris Wood, fifth as an amateur in 2008 and T3 at Turnberry in 2009, is also in the mix.

West Lancashire sees Danny Willett, Sam Bairstow, Alex Fitzpatrick, Joe Dean, and Sam Horsfield trying their luck.

High Stakes, Higher Emotions

The format is ruthless: 36 holes in one day, with sudden-death playoffs possible. As seen in last year’s case, Justin Rose qualified via this route before finishing runner-up at Royal Troon.

Dreams will be made and shattered. And for the Poulter household, a rare competitive clash may decide whether father or son earns a spot in golf’s most storied championship.

“It’ll be quite the dinner table conversation,” one golf insider quipped.