Last-chance qualifier keeps on truckin'
Former deliveryman Joe Dean's claims Open spot; Southport's storied Ryder Cup role
Joe Dean saves one last par on 18 to book Last-Chance spot in the Open (Oisin Keniry/R&A)
SOUTHPORT, England — England’s Joe Dean could not be a more perfect representative to claim an Open spot the inaugural Last-Chance Qualifier. His is a classic grass-roots tale of earning everything he’s achieved in golf the hard way.
The former delivery driver for a UK supermarket chain won the first 12-man on-site qualifier on Monday at Royal Birkdale, securing the last spot in the Open field. Dean, who plays on the DP World Tour, shot 2-under 68 to finish one shot ahead of England’s Andrew Wilson and two ahead of South African Aldrich Potgieter.
Dean got a spot in the Last-Chance Qualifier as one of the alternates who came out of final qualifying two weeks ago. In front of a nice gathering of spectators for the first official day of Open week at Royal Birkdale, he made an eagle, two birdies and two bogeys in the qualifying round to reach his third Open.
“It was great today. Any opportunity to get in the Open again, I’ll glady turn up and play,” Dean said. “One-day events, I seem to play better. I don’t quite know why, the mentality of trying to keep the same throughout any round. I don’t know if I got used to it a bit more and it was sort of just a one-round shoot-out.
“To see the amount of people out here today, it’s been great. I think it has drawn a lot more people.”
Also in today’s DD …
How a meeting in a Southport hotel changed the course of the Ryder Cup
Tee times for the first two rounds of the 154th Open
How to watch the Open Championship
Last-Chance Qualifier leaderboard (Kate McShane/R&A via Getty Images)
Dean is ranked No. 268 in the world and has posted top-10 results in two of his last three events, with a tie for third at last month’s KLM Open and a tie for ninth at last week’s BMW International Open.
A former English Amateur champion in 2015, the Sheffield native turned pro in 2016 and shuffled around the developmental PGA EuroPro and Challenge tours. In 2023, he was kicking around playing in two-round tournaments with no status before making it through all three stages of DP World Tour Q-School to earn his card.
But getting his card at age 29 was only half the battle. Dean still couldn’t afford the cost of travel around the world for DP World Tour events, so he continued supplementing his living expenses by driving a delivery truck for Morrisons supermarket.
“I had a great time doing it,” Dean said of his moonlighting delivery gig. “Met some really good friends and grounded me really well. My coach keeps saying to me, ‘don’t let the game define you.’ And obviously (golf’s) not your typical 9-to-5 job. It is a
