The leading four players in Singapore, not already exempt, were awarded an invite to The 150th Open this July at St Andrews; Final men's major of the year takes place from July 14-17 live on Sky Sports' dedicated Open channel
Sunday 23 January 2022 11:16, UK
Sadom Kaewkanjana, Yuto Katsuragawa, Joohyung Kim and Sihwan Kim have secured their places at The 150th Open with their finishes at the SMBC Singapore Open.
The SMBC Singapore Open was played at the Serapong Course at Sentosa Golf Club and was the second event in The Open Qualifying Series, which gives golfers around the world opportunities to book their places for this historic edition at St Andrews in July.
Kaewkanjana secured a three-stroke victory with a closing round of 69, with the success the biggest victory of his young career after winning five times in Thailand last year.
"I am very excited to be playing my first major at the home of golf, St Andrews," Kaewkanjana said. "It is very special to me. It is such a special year as the 150th Open. I will work hard and practise hard as I will be playing with the best golfers in the world."
Katsuragawa recorded a bogey-free 68 in the final round to finish runner-up alongside Joohyung Kim, who is in top form having won the Singapore International on the Asian Tour last week.
Kim also qualified for The 149th Open with a fourth-place finish at the 2020 Singapore Open, but the Korean subsequently withdrew from the Championship at Royal St George's due to international travel requirements related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"I was supposed to go to The Open last year but because of the travel situation I wasn't able to go which was so disappointing," Kim said. "I thought it would be really cool if I could have my first Open at St Andrews and it's happening, so you won't catch me missing that one."
Sihwan Kim recorded a 73 in the final round which was enough to see him finish outright fourth with a nine-under-par total of 275 and also secure a major debut. Paul Casey, the highest-ranked player in the Singapore field and already assured of his spot at The Open, ended the week tied-16th.
Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland
A minimum of 46 places at The Open are available through the Open Qualifying Series, which provides golfers with opportunities to qualify at 16 tournaments in 11 countries around the world.
Tournaments on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia, Asian Tour, Korean Tour, Japan Golf Tour and Sunshine Tour are all included, with the next event in the series being The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard at Bay Hill in Orlando, Florida from March 3-6.
The Open then takes place from July 14-17, with round-the-clock coverage throughout tournament week live on Sky Sports' dedicated Open channel - Sky Sports The Open.
