The Australian held a share of the lead as he entered the final round, and despite carding a one-over-par 73, managed to snatch one of three places on offer to golf’s oldest major.

 

England’s Andrew Wall tied Dodt for fourth place, but the Queenslander clinched the final spot at The Open due to his higher position in the world rankings. He will now join 10 of his fellow countrymen at Royal Birkdale.

 

“I’m absolutely pumped to be playing in my first major, it’s taken a while but I finally got there,” Dodt said. “Qualifying for The Open has been a motivation for the last six months. Today wasn’t easy at times but I’m in and here we go.

 

“I’m prepared for playing links golf, it was nice to have the Irish Open last week and then the Scottish Open. I played Royal Birkdale about 10 years ago, I don’t remember much but we’ll get out there tomorrow and do our homework.”

 

Meanwhile, Rafa Cabrera Bello fired a course record and the round of the tournament – an eight-under 64 – to win his first title on the European Tour since 2012.

 

FINAL SCORES

 

The Spaniard made a birdie to defeat England’s Callum Shinkwin on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff, after both players had signed for 13-under 275.

 

“I have been fighting for this win for many years,” the 33-year-old said. “Sometimes I did mistakes, sometimes it didn’t work out for me. I think this is long overdue.”