Former grocery delivery man Joe Dean earns the final spot in British Open

SOUTHPORT, England — Joe Dean of England delivered the goods Monday morning at Royal Birkdale by winning the inaugural “Last Chance Qualifier” with a 2-under 68 to become the last man into the field for the British Open.Dean was clinging to a one-shot lead when he hit into a pot bunker on the 18th hole and splashed out to 3 feet. The massive grandstands on both sides of the green were about two-thirds full, and they offered applause for the winning putt that Dean would love to hear on the weekend.At least the 32-year-old Dean, who once delivered groceries to pay the bills, now has a chance.He finished one shot ahead of Andrew Wilson. Aldrich Potgieter, who made bogey on the final hole to finish two shots behind, remains the first alternate.The R&A created this final qualifier to give 12 players a last chance to make the field, and to give the spectators at Royal Birkdale something more to watch than players chipping and putting during a long practice round.“To see the amount of people out here today, it’s been great,” said Dean, who will be playing in his third British Open, his first since Royal Troon in 2024. “We stopped at a local Premier Inn and we had a few people ask if we were playing in the qualifier today, which obviously you don’t usually get. Yeah, I think it has drawn a lot more people.”The top two alternates — Potgieter and Matti Schmid — were required to play to keep their status on the reserve list. They were joined by a collection of players who narrowly mi …

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