A family affair as Poulter and son battle to qualify for Open

Ian Poulter has played on the LIV Golf tour since its first event at Centurion Golf Club near London in 2022

Ian Poulter's bid to play his first Open for three years could be thwarted by his son Luke, who is also trying to make it to the championship.

Both will be battling the odds in the same qualifying tournament to try to grab one of just a handful of spots at the main event. Either could knock the other out of contention for an Open berth.

They are among 72 players competing over two circuits of Royal Cinque Ports in Kent on Tuesday. This family venture to reach Royal Portrush for the 153rd staging of golf's oldest major is one of several enticing storylines from final qualifying.

The older Poulter, a Ryder Cup legend, has played in 20 Opens, but none since 2022 when the 49-year-old opted to join the LIV tour.

He is one of several members of the the breakaway league who will dash from their latest event in Dallas. Another is Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, who is desperate to play another Open in his home town.

288 chasing 20 places in Portrush

Poulter's 21-year-old son is a highly promising talent, who is a sophomore at the university of Florida. Luke is ranked 51st in the world amateur standings and came desperately close to qualifying for the recent US Open at Oakmont.

His dad revealed that he would have caddied for his son, had the youngster been successful in a sudden death play-off against American Austen Truslow at their US Open qualifier.

Now dad and lad are rivals for the five places up for grabs at Royal Cinque Ports.

There is the same equation at three other final qualifying venues - Burnham and Berrow in Somerset, West Lancashire and Scotland's Dundonald Links - meaning a total of 20 from 288 players will head to Royal Portrush from 17-20 July.

The fields are made up of 131 who emerged from the near 2,000 who tried their hand at regional qualifying on 23 June, along with golfers who merit entry due to their standing in the professional game.

They are also aware qualifying can prove a springboard for success, as Justin Rose found after emerging from the scramble to make it to Royal Troon last year before finishing joint runner-up behind champion Xander Schauffele.

Home Open has been big focus - McDowell

It is a cut-throat business laced with sporting romance.

Poulter begins his 36-hole bid in the company of Tom Lewis, who shot 65, a record low score for an amateur, when he took the first-round lead as a qualifier at Royal St George's in 2011.

McDowell was thrilled to be at Portrush, the town of his birth, in 2019 when The Open was staged there for the first time in 68 years. He grabbed a qualifying spot at the Canadian Open, a route no longer open to him because of his LIV affiliation.

"With the Open going back to Royal Portrush, it's been a big focus," McDowell revealed. "I'll play Dallas and fly straight to London, and I'll go down to the qualifier.

"I'm going to Royal Cinque Ports. It's maybe not the best prep in the world, but I'll be pretty fired up.

"I'm excited. It would certainly be bittersweet to not be there, but I'll definitely be giving it my full attention and be trying hard."

He knows this will be a special championship given how Shane Lowry delighted home fans on the island of Ireland with his runaway victory six years ago.

And McDowell's Northern Irish compatriot, Rory McIlroy, will bring the Masters Green Jacket, a career Grand Slam, and a huge buzz to the Antrim venue.

"It would be amazing," the 45-year-old Ulsterman added. "With everything that Rory's done this year, with Shane being the defending champion, to go back to Portrush, it's going to be a special week.

"It goes without saying that I'd love to be a part of it."

McDowell tees off with the highly promising Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who contended before finishing 12th at the US Open in June. He has yet to compete at an Open.

Also entered at the Deal course is DP World Tour stalwart Matt Southgate, who was sixth at the 2017 Open and promising amateurs Tyler Weaver and Kris Kim. If successful, Weaver - along with Luke Poulter - will warm up for Portrush by representing England Golf men's squad in the European Amateur Championships from 8-12 July in Kilarney, Ireland.

Chris Wood was a 20-year-old amateur when he finished in a share of fifth at the 2008 Open at Royal Birkdale. A year later only Stewart Cink and Tom Watson finished better than him at Turnberry as he shared third place with Lee Westwood.

Both Englishman are seeking a ticket to Portrush, with Westwood making the journey from LIV Dallas to Dundonald.

On the Ayrshire coast, he will be reunited with former Ryder Cup partner Jamie Donaldson.

The field there also includes Alex Noren, who was in the final pairing with champion Scottie Scheffler at the US PGA Championship in May, as well as tour winners Marc Warren and Adrian Meronk.

Former Masters champion Danny Willett tries his luck at West Lancashire along with the likes of Sam Bairstow, Alex Fitzpatrick, Joe Dean and Sam Horsfield.

In the United States, they call final qualifying for the US Open "the longest day". It is a marketing ploy that could easily be attributed to the four events across the UK this Tuesday.

Destiny could be decided by sudden death play-off and at each venue dreams will be realised while hearts are being broken. It is golf in its rawest form with a place in the game's most historic tournament at stake.

It should be quite the conversation over the Poulter family dinner table.