Ian Poulter to go head-to-head with son in Open qualifying

Luke Poulter narrowly missed out on a US Open place and will hope to dash his dad’s dreams of a return to Open

Ian Poulter (right) and son Luke will battle in Open qualifying (Getty Images)

Britain's Luke Poulter will have a very familiar rival when he attempts to qualify for The Open for the first time next week - his Ryder Cup-winning dad Ian.

Poulter Jr, a University of Florida student, will tee it up at Royal Cinque Ports on the English Kent coast at the crack of dawn on Tuesday, a few minutes before his dad.

The 21-year-old narrowly missed out in his attempt to qualify for the US Open this month, losing a playoff to Austen Truslow in final qualifying.

His father later revealed that he would have caddied for his son at Oakmont had he made it.

Poulter senior, 49, finished second at the 2008 Open at Royal Birkdale and was a talisman for the Europe Ryder Cup team, featuring in five winning teams.

The final Open qualifying rounds are taking place across four courses with about 20 spots up for grabs for the tournament, which is at Royal Portrush from 17-20 July.

Poulter joined the rebel LIV Golf Series in June 2022 and subsequently gave up his membership of the DP World Tour after being sanctioned.

He is not in contention to earn the exemption place available at The Open to the top performing LIV player not already qualified for the event, which will be decided after this weekend’s event in Dallas.

Reuters