Cape Town - Trevor Immelman has narrowly missed out on an Open Championship spot due to his low world ranking at the Scottish Open at Gullane Golf Club.
The South African shot a final round of 65 on Sunday to finish 15-under par for the tournament - and lie tied for third.
This was Immelman's first top-10 finish in more than four years.
There were three spots available for qualification to The Open for players not otherwise exempt at the Scottish Open.
READ: SA's Stone a 1 000/1 outsider before Scottish Open win
Eventual winner Brandon Stone of South Africa and runner-up Englishman Eddie Pepperell took the first two spots.
This left the final spot to be decided between Immelman and Swede Jens Dantorp - who, like Immelman, tied for third.
The tiebreaker was determined by the players' standings in the Official World Golf Rankings entering the week.
Dantorp, who was ranked 322nd in the world, edged Immelman (ranked 1380th) out for the final spot at Carnoustie by virtue of his higher world ranking.
However, it's not all doom and gloom for the 2008 Masters champion, as he pocketed a cool €309 768 (R4.7 million) and moved up to 420th in the world ranking for his efforts.
Immelman will be attending this week's Major as a commentator and panelist for the Golf Channel.
There will be 12 South Africans in the field this week: Stone, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen, Brandon Grace, Ernie Els, Zander Lombard, Retief Goosen, George Coetzee, Dylan Frittelli, Erik van Rooyen, Shaun Norris and amateur Jovan Rebula.
The Open Championship at Carnoustie will tee off from July 19-22.
Words can’t even express my gratitude for all the encouraging and supportive messages I’ve received over the last few days, it’s very much appreciated.
— Trevor Immelman (@TrevorImmelman) July 15, 2018
I look forward to being a part of the @GolfChannel team for this weeks @TheOpen....??????
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