Sergio Garcia fails to qualify for the 2024 Open Championship by TWO SHOTS... as the former Masters champion is involved in a row with tournament officials after 1,500 fans turn out to watch him play

Sergio Garcia's dream of playing in his 100th Major is temporarily over as he bemoaned a row that pockmarked his attempt to qualify for Troon.

The Spaniard was involved in a heated discussion with tournament officials during his first round of the 36-hole competition on Merseyside. He ended up failing by two shots to secure one of the four places there were up for grabs.

Having been followed by a crowd of more than 1,500 from the moment he took his first tee shot, Garcia showed flashes of brilliance particularly at the end of his opening 18 holes when finishing birdie-par-birdie.

But he put himself in a position where he needed similar fireworks in the closing stages of his second round. On this occasion, though, the putts would not drop and Garcia was adamant where he left a couple of shots behind.

'It was very simple,' said Garcia. 'We have that many people following us, no ropes or nothing. The marshalls were doing their best. But we had to stop on every tee for two or three minutes because people were walking on the course.

'Unless they wanted us to start hitting people, how could we hit? We had to wait. I don't think they took that into account, which was unfortunate. It made us rush.

'On a day such as this, when the conditions are so tricky, you need a little bit of extra time. I made a couple of bogeys after that and who knows? It might have stopped me getting to Troon.'

It was a similarly dispiriting day for Graeme McDowell at Royal Cinque Ports in Dover, who was one-over for his 36 holes and was left trailing in the wake of Matthew Southgate, who was left tears after qualifying.

Justin Rose will, however, be going to Scotland after he got through a demanding day at Burnham & Berrow near Bristol in spectacular style, shooting eight-under par to gain entry to the tournament that matters most.

Rose, whose love affair with The Open began in 1998 at Royal Birkdale, will be elated to have another shot at The Claret Jug but there was no disguising the disappointment that gripped his old Ryder Cup team-mate Garcia.

'Unfortunately things were really not happening for me,' said Garcia. 'It would have been a dream come true to make it to The Open. I love The Open, I love playing in the UK and you could see how many people were following our group.

'I wanted to make it happen. It would have been nice for the 100th to be at Troon but I guess it will have to be The Masters next year, which isn't bad is it? I will just keep trying as best as I can.'