GOLF/British Open qualifying: Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell earned a place in next month's British Open at Hoylake by making a birdie at the third play-off hole at Sunningdale yesterday.
The 26-year-old from Portrush was part of a seven-man play-off for the last four of 18 spots up for grabs in the European qualifier.
A 90-minute rain delay meant there was no time for the play-off on Monday night, so the players involved returned for a 7am start yesterday morning.
South African Darren Fichardt double-bogeyed the first hole and Italian Alessandro Tadini bogeyed it to drop out.
McDowell and South Africa's Richard Sterne made birdies at the third extra hole to go through.
England's Simon Dyson, Robert Rock and James Hepworth could not be split at the next three holes, but after Rock birdied the seventh, Dyson got the better of his fellow Yorkshireman when he sank a six-footer on the eighth after Hepworth had missed from 25 feet.
In the US, Lee Westwood and Greg Owen were among 12 players yesterday handed starts at Hoylake. The English pair had been expecting to fight it out with 118 others - mostly US Tour players - in the American qualifying tournament in Washington for a dozen places.
But after being postponed for 24 hours and reduced from 36 to 18 holes, the event was cancelled because of the heavy rains that saw the Booz Allen Classic at nearby Potomac not completed until yesterday.
Instead, the British Open spots were given to the top 12 in the world rankings yet to qualify: Tom Pernice, Brett Wetterich, Vaughn Taylor, Westwood, Owen, Bo Van Pelt, JB Holmes, Jerry Kelly, Ted Purdy, Steve Elkington, Jeff Maggert and Aaron Baddeley.
Those who missed out included Justin Rose and Brian Davis, but all have been given another chance to make it to Royal Liverpool.
They have until midnight tomorrow to decide if they want to enter the 36-hole final qualifying at four courses near Hoylake on July 10th and 11th.
SUNNINGDALE QUALIFIERS: (Irish in bold, British unless stated, par 70): 132 Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 66 66, Marco Ruiz (Par) 67 65 135 Richard Green (Aus) 69 66, Sam Little 69 66, Mark Pilkington 69 66 136 Barry Lane 68 68, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 68 68, Simon Wakefield 67 69, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 68 68 137 Jamie Donaldson 67 70, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 70 67, Brett Rumford (Aus) 66 71, Lee Slattery 70 67, Phillip Price 70 67 138 (after play-off) Richard Sterne (Rsa) 71 67, Graeme McDowell 69 69, Simon Dyson 71 67, Robert Rock 68 70.
