LIV Golf’s Sam Horsfield was disqualified from qualifying for The Open after reportedly failing to inform officials he retired early. Horsfield was one of two LIV stars to withdraw from qualifying for golf’s final major of the year, with Adrian Meronk following suit.
Horsfield, who is a three-time European Tour winner, has twice made The Open in the past, but his hopes of competing at this month’s championship were dealt an early blow when he posted a score of +7 for the opening nine holes. However, as per Bunkered, instead of telling the course marshals about his intention to pull out, the Englishman simply picked up his stuff and left.
It was deemed a DQ offence, meaning Horsfield will have to wait until next year to earn a spot at the Open, having previously teed off three times before at the event. Horsfield took to social media after qualifying, claiming his poor performance was down to “feeling dizzy” while out on the course.
Posting on Instagram, he said: “So I flew back home Sunday night and landed into Heathrow at 4pm by the time I got up to west lancs it was about late. Had a bit of dinner and fell asleep at 1030/11. At 1AM the fire alarm went off and we had to go stand outside for an hour or so.
“I eventually got back sleep around 5:30am for a 6am alarm which I slept thru but fortunately my caddy woke me up.. I felt completely dizzy and out of it all day. Don’t listen to the propaganda out there against liv players by some of these pages. Hope this clears things up.”
Unlike Horsfield, Meronk did tell the R&A officials about his decision to pull out, having recorded a score of three-over-par in his opening round. It’s the first time Meronk will miss the Open since 2021, having made the cut in each of his first three starts, including a best-placed finish of T23 in 2023.
It marks a historic year for the Open, given it’s the first time they’re set to hand exemptions out to LIV players. Speaking earlier this year, Mark Darbon, the new R&A chief executive, stated: “The Open is a global championship for the best men’s golfers and each year we review our exemptions to ensure that we offer pathways into the Championship based on results achieved on the leading professional tours.
“We acknowledge that players competing in LIV Golf should also have the opportunity to secure places in The Open through its individual season standings as well as existing pathways.”
