A sunny day in north-west England should have provided the ideal backdrop for Sergio Garcia’s bid to qualify for the Open Championship but while the 43-year-old had a place at Hoylake in his hands for so long he eventually let it slip.
The Spaniard was followed by bumper crowds at West Lancashire Golf Club in Crosby near Liverpool – a part of the world which has proved a happy hunting ground for Garcia in the past – but came up three shots shy of extending his run at the major into a 26th successive year.
