Lee, Dahmen and Mitchell Qualify for The 149th Open with Play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational

Danny Lee

(Orlando, Fla.) — Danny Lee, Joel Dahmen and Keith Mitchell have secured their places in The 149th Open after qualifying at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard was played at Bay Hill in Orlando and was the fourth event in The Open Qualifying Series, which gives golfers around the world opportunities to book their place at Royal St George’s from 12-19 July 2020.

England’s Tyrrell Hatton defeated former champion Marc Leishman by one shot to lift his first PGA TOUR title on a four-under-par total of 284. Both players were already exempt for The Open, as well as Sungjae Im and Bryson DeChambeau, who finished third and fourth.

All three qualifiers finished in a tie for fifth place alongside 2014 Champion Golfer Rory McIlroy, who was already exempt, on an even par total of 288 to secure their places in golf’s original championship.

Lee will make his return to The Open for the first time since 2016 when the Championship was played at Royal Troon. Despite a final round 75, the 2015 Greenbrier Classic champion will tee it up with the world’s best golfers at Royal St George’s after securing the first qualifying spot courtesy of his higher position in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).

Dahmen, who made his debut in The Open at Royal Portrush last year, claimed the second qualifying spot ahead of Mitchell thanks to his higher position in OWGR after closing with a one-under-par 71 during today’s final round. The American sunk a crucial birdie putt from over 45 feet on the 16th hole to book his place in the field at Royal St George’s.

It was a case of déjà vu for Mitchell who qualified through the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard for the second year running. The 28-year-old clinched the final qualifying place in dramatic fashion after rolling in a 12 foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to also sign for a one-under-par 71.

Despite occupying the qualifying places for much of the final round, there was disappointment for Harris English and Sung Kang, who both dropped vital shots to slip out of contention and finish on a one-over-par total of 289 alongside Collin Morikawa.

The next event in the Open Qualifying Series will be The Mizuno Open being played at The Royal in Ibaraki, Japan from 30 May-2 June 2020.