DUBLIN, Ohio – Rickie Fowler wants more major championships on his schedule, and he capitalized on a strong week at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday to qualify for The Open Championship at Royal Portrush via the Open Qualifying Series.

Fowler qualified for The Open as the highest finisher at the Memorial, not otherwise exempt. Fowler and Brandt Snedeker shared seventh place at 1 under, and Fowler won the tiebreaker as the higher-ranked player on the Official World Golf Ranking. (Fowler entered the week at No. 124 on the world ranking; Snedeker was No. 430.)

It came down to the 72nd hole at Muirfield Village. After a bogey at the par-4 17th, Fowler missed the green in the right rough at the par-4 18th and needed to get up and down to match Snedeker’s 1-under 287 and earn the final Open spot via tiebreaker. Fowler played a crafty pitch shot to 2 feet and converted the par putt to punch his ticket to Northern Ireland for his 14th Open Championship appearance.

Fowler knew that Snedeker had played a strong final round at Muirfield Village (Snedeker’s 7-under 65 marked Sunday’s low round), but he wasn’t quite sure of the specifics regarding The Open qualification. He learned shortly thereafter and was also greeted outside the scoring area by his wife Allison and young daughters Maya and Nellie. The Fowler family posed together for a photo with an Open flag to commemorate the moment.

“This week still could have been a lot better, but definite positive is going over to Portrush. That's one I've wanted on the schedule. I had a great time when we were there the last (time) and had a decent showing as well,” said Fowler, who made good use of his sponsor exemption to the Memorial, the season’s seventh of eight Signature Events.

Additionally, all players in the top 60 on the Official World Golf Ranking following the Memorial Tournament have qualified for U.S. Open at Oakmont in two weeks. Fowler will be outside that number, but he’s trying to play his way to Oakmont nonetheless – he’s signed up for Monday’s 36-hole U.S. Open qualifier (known as Golf’s Longest Day) at the Columbus, Ohio, site. At age 36, he’s still hungry for as many major starts as possible.

Fowler didn’t qualify for this year’s Masters, but he received a special invite to last month’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, where he missed the cut with rounds of 73-73. Fowler has never won a major but has been close several times, including a memorable 2014 season where he finished top five in all four majors. Overall, he has notched 13 top-10 finishes in 54 career major starts. It’s a notable hole in the resume of the six-time PGA TOUR winner who has been one of the game’s most popular and recognizable figures for nearly two decades. He believes he can still win a major, but he needs to qualify first, of course.

After Sunday, he has earned another opportunity at Portrush, where he finished sixth in 2019. For that, count his week at the Memorial as a success.

“Links golf’s my favorite,” Fowler added Sunday. “Portrush is a great spot. So excited for that opportunity.”