Spaniard Angel Hidalgo sealed his place in a third straight Open Championship next July with a second-placed finish at the 2026 FedEx Open de France.
This week’s event at Le Golf National is the first in the Open Qualifying Series for entry into the 155th hosting of golf’s oldest major, which continues at next month’s Open de España presented by Madrid – with one place again available – and runs until July.
Hidalgo finished three strokes behind champion Matt Fitzpatrick, who had already secured his Open place, meaning the Spaniard will tee it up at the Home of Golf next year.
Three birdies in the last five holes ensured he emerged from the pack to seal his place ahead of compatriot Eugenio Chacarra and French pair Tom Vaillant and Matthieu Pavon, who shared third place on Sunday with Norway’s already-qualified Kristoffer Reitan.
HEADING 1️⃣5️⃣5️⃣th OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP …
Spaniard Angel Hidalgo’s super second place finish at #FedExOpebDeFrance sees him qualify next July for a third straight Open Championship
Bien hecho Angel @Tengolf
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✅️ @TOURMISS pic.twitter.com/dlWRcfKWmb
— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) September 27, 2026
Hidalgo birdied the sixth after an approach to three feet, though his title challenge in France never took shape with a front nine otherwise consisting of pars followed by a dropped shot at the tenth.
He responded with a birdie at the next though, and as Fitzpatrick eventually closed the door on the chasing pack it became a question of who would win the Open place.
Back-to-back birdies at the 14th and 15th kept Hidalgo in contention, particularly once Chacarra found water at the 13th and bogeyed the 15th, and after a stunning approach to the last he let out a sigh of satisfaction knowing the job was all but done.
