LIV golfer Dean Burmester secures spot in The Open Championship despite major world ranking drop

Dean Burmester earned a qualification for the Open Championship 2024 after winning the Joburg Open on Sunday (November 26). He carded a bogey-free 64 on the final day at the Houghton Golf Club in Johannesburg to conclude at 18-under, beating Darren Fichardt by three strokes.

Burmester joined LIV Golf earlier this year, and his rankings have plummeted to 154th since then. His hopes of competing in the major championship looked bleak after returning from the DP World Tour. However, the Joburg Open win ensures that he will be competing at Royal Troon next year.

The Sunshine Tour event is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour, and it is the first of nine qualifying series events for the Open. Besides Burmester, Fichardt and Dan Bradbury have also earned spots at next year's major championship.

Speaking at the post-match interview, the South African said that he was happy to win at home. He said, as per the Mirror:

"It sounds pretty cool to be the Joburg Open champion. I’ve been playing this event for so long and to win it is amazing. That was my goal coming home.

"I hadn’t won this year and have been playing well, so to come here and win a tournament in my home country in front of my home fans with some of my family here is very special."

The 34-year-old golfer has appeared two times at the Open Championship. His best performance was a T11 finish last year at St. Andrews.

"I love The Open Championship," he continued. "The 150th Open at St Andrews that I played in was probably the greatest spectacle that I've ever witnessed. They put on one of the most special shows in golf."

Burmester has now won 10 professional titles, and nine of them have come on the Sunshine Tour. He has also become the only player from LIV to win a DP World Tour title since the switch.

The 152nd Open will take place from July 18 to 21, 2024, at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland. This will be the 10th time in history that Royal Troon will host the Open Championship. Also, it will be the 101st year since it first hosted the championship in 1923.

Brian Harman won this year's Open Championship after defeating Jason Day, Tom Kim, Jon Rahm, and Sepp Straka with a six-stroke margin. This victory was the first major of his career, as well as his first title in six years.

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How was Dean Burmester's performance in the 2023 season?

The 34-year-old South African played for the Louis Oosthuizen-led Stinger GC in his debut season in LIV Golf. He made five top-10 finishes in 14 starts and ended the year at 14th in the individual standings.

Here's a look at Dean Burmester's results in the 2023 season:

• Mayakoba (February 24–26): 21
• Tucson (March 17–19): 33
• Orlando (March 31—April 02): 3
• Adelaide (April 21–23): 8
• Singapore (April 28–30): 42
• Tulsa (May 12–14): 8
• DC (May 26–28): 17
• Andalucía (June 30—July 02): 14
• London (July 7–9): 19
• Greenbrier (August 04–06): 8
• Bedminster (August 11–13): 5
• Chicago (September 22–24): 23
• Jeddah (October 13–15): 21