Jet lag, a fire alarm, and a disastrous front nine led to Sam Horsfield’s dramatic disqualification

Sam Horsfield has described the “worst hours” of his career after a dismal performance in The Open’s final qualifying left him disqualified and devastated.

The 28-year-old Englishman, who joined LIV Golf in 2022, saw his chances of playing at Royal Portrush vanish after just nine holes at West Lancashire. On Tuesday, Horsfield shot a grim seven-over-par 43 on the front nine before walking off without informing officials, resulting in an automatic disqualification.

Speaking candidly on talkSPORT’s Hawksbee & Jacobs, Horsfield pulled back the curtain on a day when everything seemed to go wrong.

“I had probably some of the worst hours of my life,” he admitted. “We flew back from an event in Dallas and landed at 4 pm on Monday. I was worried about jet lag, and then around 10:30 or 11 at night, the fire alarm went off at the hotel.”

He continued, “We all had to go outside. It wasn’t until around 5:30 or 6 am that we could properly settle again. It was just brutal. Honestly, it was one of the top three worst I’ve ever felt on a golf course.”

Horsfield’s disastrous round came during one of four final Open qualifying events, with 20 total spots up for grabs across the venues. At West Lancashire, players had to complete two rounds—36 holes in a single day—to earn one of five coveted spots at Royal Portrush, where The Open returns later this month.

The Florida-based golfer’s early collapse left him with no hope of qualifying. He left the course without properly notifying the tournament committee, which under R&A rules meant an automatic disqualification.

He was one of five players at West Lancashire who didn’t finish; four were disqualified. A score of five-under-par was eventually the cut-off after a four-man playoff decided the final two places—won by Richard Teder and Oliver Lindell.

For Horsfield, the missed opportunity stings. His best showing at The Open came during his debut in 2021, where he finished tied for 67th. In his two subsequent appearances, he failed to make the cut. A return to the championship this year had been a major goal.

Instead, he’ll have to wait at least another year.

Horsfield’s early professional career had promised so much. A three-time winner on the European Tour, he earned a reputation as one of England’s brightest golfing prospects before making the controversial switch to LIV Golf. His aggressive playstyle and clean ball striking have earned him plaudits, but consistency has often eluded him at the biggest stages.

This latest misstep only compounds a difficult stretch. On form, he might well have contended at Portrush. But now, after a fire-alarm interrupted night and a physically and mentally draining flight from the US, his Open dream ended in a ditch on a wet morning in Lancashire.

“Sometimes things just don’t go your way,” Horsfield said. “But that doesn’t make it any easier to swallow.”