As runner-up at the Renaissance Club, Kitayama won one of the three available spots at St. Andrews through the Open Qualifying Series. Former Ryder Cup hero Jamie Donaldson and another TOUR rookie, Brandon Wu, won the other two. “After my previous two experiences, the goal now is to try to make the cut,” said Kitayama, who moved to 41st in the FedExCup with his third top-three finish of the season. “It’s just a different type of golf and you have to adapt.” The Open spots went to the top three finishers at the Genesis Scottish Open who were not already eliminated from The Open as long as they also finished in the top 10 on the leaderboard. Trey Mullinax also advanced to The Open Championship by winning the Barbasol Championship on Sunday when he defeated Kevin Streelman by one shot after birdieing the 72nd hole. Kitayama finished just one stroke behind Genesis Scottish Open winner Xander Schauffele after shooting a 66 to take the clubhouse lead at 6 under. Kitayama, a two-time winner on the DP World Tour, will be making his third Open appearance. Donaldson made three back-nine birdies to finish T6. The Welshman, 46, felt a bogey at the par-5 16th could prove costly, but he did enough to secure a seventh appearance at The Open and his first since 2016. He tied for 49th at the last Open at St . Andrews in 2015. “It’s fantastic to be able to play St Andrews again,” said Donaldson, who set the European tiebreak at the Ryder Cup in 2014. “It’s tough knowing you have to post a score to get to the Open.” Both Donaldson and Wu shot 67s on Sunday to jump 15 places in the leaderboard and into a tie for sixth. Wu finished more than two hours ahead of the leaders and watched the players struggle with the difficult closing hole at the Renaissance Club. Rasmus Hojgaard and Alex Smalley both made 18 to allow Wu to secure his second Open appearance. Wu also played in the 2019 Open after traveling to Scotland to qualify. He became the first amateur to qualify for both the US Open and the Open Championship since Ireland’s Joe Carr in 1967. “It’s honestly so incredible to play in The 150th Open at St. Andrews,” Wu said. “It’s so remarkable to me. I played well today, but I needed a little help from others at the end.”
