One shot kept YouTube star Wesley Bryan from qualifying directly for The Open Championship. But he still has one more chance to earn a place at Royal Birkdale.

Bryan, a PGA Tour winner turned YouTube star, has earned a place in the R&A's inaugural Last Chance Qualifier for The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. The 18-hole, 12-man shootout takes place Monday, July 13, at Birkdale, beginning at 7:30 a.m. local time.

The winner earns a spot in The Open three days later.

Bryan's route in came through final qualifying at West Lancashire last month, reported by Golf Channel on July 7. He missed a playoff by one shot, finishing in a tie for eighth. That placed him on the alternate list, and he edged world No. 1,040 Giles Evans for the third spot from that group based on his OWGR ranking of No. 1,028 as of June 29.

"I have missed competing," he wrote on X on June 30 after his near miss. "Today was fun… until that last putt missed."

The qualifier carries added weight for Bryan, given his current standing with the PGA Tour. He has been suspended indefinitely after competing in a "LIV Golf Duels" video alongside Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and other players, which the Tour deemed a promotion of a rival organization.

The suspension remains in force.

Bryan last played in a major in 2018. At West Lancashire, he outperformed former Masters champions Danny Willett and Sergio Garcia before the closing bogey ended his hopes of qualifying outright.

Wesley Bryan claimed his only PGA Tour win at the 2017 RBC Heritage. He also runs the Bryan Bros YouTube channel with his brother, George, which has more than 900,000 subscribers.

Monday represents his first realistic path back to a major field since his suspension began.

PGA Tour member Aldrich Potgieter and German Matti Schmid enter as the top two eligible players by world ranking among the 12 competitors.

Monday's qualifier determines the final name on The Open's starting list.

The Full Last Chance Qualifier Field

Bryan needs to finish ahead of 11 other players to earn a place at Royal Birkdale. 

The 12 players in Monday's qualifier are Adri Arnaus, Wesley Bryan, Joe Dean, Sam Easterbrook (a), John Gough, Marcus Helligkilde, Angel Hidalgo, Charles Huntzinger, Matt Moloney (a), Aldrich Potgieter, Matti Schmid, and Andrew Wilson, according to GolfChannel.

Two amateurs are in the mix.

Easterbrook, who plays collegiately at Purdue, finished fifth at the Amateur Championship and figures to be a Walker Cup selection for Great Britain and Ireland.

Moloney, from Georgia, was runner-up at last month's British Amateur to Stuart Grehan.

The Open Championship begins at Royal Birkdale on July 16, three days after Monday's qualifier decides who fills the final spot in the field.

What are your expectations for Wesley Bryan? Let us know in the comments.

Read more at Club Golf.

Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar