Golf Academies
BGA – Alex de Castro fulfilled his dream of playing The Open: an unforgettable week at Royal Birkdale
20 July 2026 – There are weeks that change a career. And there are experiences that stay with an athlete forever. For Alejandro “Alex” de Castro, the 21-year-old golfer from Barcelona, competing in The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale was far more than making his debut in a major championship. It confirmed that his name already belongs among the new generation of Spanish amateur golfers with genuine international potential.
The Barcelona Golf Academy graduate, who is also a member of the Long Beach State University golf team in California, returns from England with unforgettable memories: two solid rounds of 73-73 for a 146 (+6) total, finishing tied as the sixth-best amateur in the championship while enjoying, from the inside, an experience reserved for the world’s finest golfers.
But to understand the true significance of this adventure, we need to go back a few weeks.
The surprise at Burnham & Berrow
Alex’s Open journey truly began on 2 July, at Final Qualifying held at Burnham & Berrow Golf Club.
With a superb performance of eight-under-par, finishing tied third, the young member of Club de Golf Barcelona—the same club where David Puig developed his game—secured one of the five coveted places available for the oldest and most prestigious championship in world golf.
It was the reward for years of hard work and the passport to fulfil the dream every golfer has chased since childhood: playing in The Open Championship.
Qualifying represented one of the greatest achievements of his career. Not only did it earn him a place at Royal Birkdale, it also lifted him eight places in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) to No. 52, confirming the remarkable progress he has made throughout the season.
The credentials were already there. In 2024 he captured the prestigious Copa Nacional Puerta de Hierro. This spring he claimed his first collegiate victory at the Wildcat Invitational, was named Big West Golfer of the Year, and received recognition through several All-American selections.
The official The Open website also highlighted his achievements ahead of the championship, describing him as one of only three amateurs to successfully progress through the demanding Final Qualifying.
The road to Royal Birkdale
A few days later, Alex arrived on England’s north-west coast accompanied by two very special people.
By his side was Carlos Vivas, Head Coach of the Barcelona Golf Academy and one of the key figures behind his development over recent years.
For Carlos Vivas, this was no ordinary week either. It marked the second time he had accompanied one of his players to The Open Championship. The first came back in 2017, also at Royal Birkdale, when he worked alongside Australian golfer Ryan McCarthy.
Nine years later, fate had brought him back to the historic links, this time alongside Alejandro de Castro—a remarkable coincidence that underlines both the international reach achieved by the Barcelona Golf Academy and the outstanding work carried out by its coaching staff over the years.
Completing the team was Bruno Martí, one of Alex’s training partners at the academy, who would spend the entire week carrying the bag as caddie in what proved to be an equally unexpected and unforgettable experience for both of them.
The three of them arrived determined to savour every moment of a unique opportunity.
An odyssey before it even began
As if The Open wanted to test the debutant from day one, the first setback soon arrived.
Alex’s golf bag failed to reach England on time.
Throughout the practice days he had to make do with a borrowed set of clubs and even adapt to using a different putter from his own—far from an ideal situation when preparing for a major championship.
It was the sort of inconvenience that could easily have unsettled many players, yet Alex simply turned it into another anecdote from an unforgettable week.
Remaining calm throughout, he accepted the situation naturally and continued preparing for the championship alongside Carlos Vivas, displaying a level of maturity well beyond his 21 years.
Tuesday among the stars
One of the moments Alex will never forget came on Tuesday, during the championship practice sessions.
On the Royal Birkdale driving range, the left-hander from Spain found himself practising alongside some of the biggest names in world golf. Just a few metres away, he was hitting drives next to Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Xander Schauffele and Josele Ballester, soaking up an atmosphere that can only be experienced at The Open.
It was an image that perfectly captured the scale of the experience.
Only a few weeks earlier, they had been players he admired on television. Now they were warming up right beside him.
Living The Open from the inside
As the days went by, Alex began to discover everything that surrounds The Open Championship.
Throughout the practice days he also crossed paths with Keegan Bradley, Joaquín Niemann, David Puig and once again Josele Ballester, sharing the practice facilities, fairways and training areas with some of the world’s finest golfers.
There were also moments to treasure beyond the golf itself.
One of the most memorable came when Luke Donald, Europe’s Ryder Cup Captain, happily posed for a selfie with Alex’s brothers, who had travelled to Royal Birkdale to support him throughout such a special week.
Meanwhile, Carlos Vivas continued fine-tuning every technical detail, helping his player understand the subtleties of a links course as demanding as it was unpredictable.
The first shot of a dream
Thursday finally arrived.
After years of development, success in national amateur competitions, his collegiate journey in the United States and that unforgettable qualification at Burnham & Berrow, Alejandro de Castro was about to tee it up in his first major championship.
His opening round was scheduled for 11:15 a.m., alongside South Korea’s Jeongwoo Ham and Japan’s Ryutaro Nagano, two young players who, like Alex, were hoping to leave their mark at Royal Birkdale.
The nerves were inevitable.
Alex later admitted that when he reached the 1st tee, he “couldn’t feel either my hands or my feet,” to the point where he had to rely on breathing exercises to settle himself before striking his opening shot.
But once the round got underway, everything changed.
After that first swing, the nerves disappeared, and he simply returned to doing what he had spent a lifetime practising: playing golf.
Every hole became another lesson. The galleries, the organisation, the immaculate condition of the course, the ever-changing wind and the unique atmosphere of The Open combined to make it an unforgettable day.
Friday: to make the cut, or not to make the cut – that was the question
Friday dawned with an even greater challenge.
Making the cut.
Alex began the second round at three-over-par, knowing he would need an outstanding performance to reach a projected cut line hovering around level par for much of the day.
The task was enormous.
To make matters even tougher, he was drawn in the final group of the day, teeing off at 4:21 p.m., when the wind had begun to strengthen once again, making the closing hours at Royal Birkdale even more demanding.
Yet he never stopped fighting.
By the end of the day, he had signed for a second consecutive 73, matching his opening round and completing an exceptionally composed championship for a major debutant.
The cut ultimately proved just out of reach.
But the experience—and everything he learned from it—was priceless.
Much more than just a result
The record books will show that Alejandro de Castro finished The 154th Open Championship with a total of 146 (+6).
Yet those numbers barely reflect everything he experienced during an extraordinary week.
In the space of just fifteen days, he had gone from earning one of the coveted places at Final Qualifying to competing in the oldest and most prestigious championship in golf.
He practised and shared memorable moments alongside some of the biggest names in the game, including Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Xander Schauffele, Keegan Bradley, Joaquín Niemann, David Puig and Josele Ballester.
He experienced the nerves of standing on the 1st tee of a major championship for the very first time—and learned how to overcome them.
And, perhaps most importantly, he returned home having finished tied as the sixth-lowest amateur in the entire Open Championship.
Supported throughout the week by Carlos Vivas, with Bruno Martí carrying the bag, Alex proudly represented both the Barcelona Golf Academy and Spanish golf on one of the sport’s greatest stages.
His Open debut also ended with a statistic that speaks for itself: tied for sixth place in the Amateur Classification, an outstanding achievement and an excellent introduction to golf’s highest level.
The beginning of a new chapter
Beyond the final result, Alex’s performance produced several highly encouraging statistics.
On one of the world’s most demanding links courses, he finished 66th in Driving Distance, averaging 310.3 yards off the tee. His longest drive measured 356.7 yards, while he also posted a positive +0.217 Strokes Gained: Driving figure.
These are numbers that underline the strength of his long game alongside many of the world’s leading professionals.
They may go unnoticed by the general public, but coaches and performance analysts understand exactly what they mean: they confirm that the young Catalan possesses the physical tools and technical ability required to compete at the very highest level in the future.
Behind that progress stands a structure that has spent many years developing players capable of performing on golf’s biggest stages.
Carlos Vivas’ second appearance at The Open Championship, completing a remarkable circle between Royal Birkdale 2017 and Royal Birkdale 2026, is another clear reflection of the international standing achieved by the Barcelona Golf Academy and its coaching programme.
At just 21 years of age, Alejandro de Castro continues to build a career that shows every sign of gathering momentum.
His development at the Barcelona Golf Academy, his successful transition to American collegiate golf and now the experience of competing in The Open Championship all form part of the same journey.
Royal Birkdale was never the final destination.
He did far more than simply enjoy the experience. Far from being the amateur who came merely to learn, he proved that he already has the game to compete. More importantly, he demonstrated that he possesses the power and quality off the tee to stand alongside established international professionals.
Royal Birkdale was not the destination. It was the beginning of the journey.
A week filled with learning, friendship and unforgettable experiences that will almost certainly provide the momentum for the next great objective in his career: making the transition into the professional ranks.
Because some dreams come to an end the moment they are fulfilled.
Alex de Castro’s dream, after an unforgettable week at Royal Birkdale, feels as though it has only just begun.
