No luck for Irish in US Open qualifier

Shane Lowry made an early dash for the airport when he opted to retire after just one round of the US Open International Section Qualifier at Walton Heath. Picture at Wentworth last weekend by Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ieShane Lowry needs a big week at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio this week to qualify for the US Open after opting to retire after an opening 75 in the International Sectional Qualifier at Walton Heath.

The Offaly man missed out on automatic qualification through the top 60 in the world rankings when he finished a disappointing 12th in the BMW PGA at Wentworth on Sunday.

While Wentworth play-off loser Simon Khan managed to overcome his disappointment by topping the 12 qualifiers at Walton Heath on seven-under par, world No 77 Lowry opted to save his energy for a crack at a top finish in Muirfield Village this week.

Tweeting from the airport and his flight to Newark, Lowry wrote: “No joy today in Walton Heath, off to the Memorial Tournament this week in the US. Have heard so much about it. Can’t wait to get there.”

He has a second chance to make it to Merion by making the top 60 before the June 10 deadline.

As for the rest of the Irish in action, Peter Lawrie shot rounds of 72 and 80 to miss out by 11 shots while Gareth Maybin was a shot further back after rounds of 81 and 73.

Khan was one of seven players to make it directly while six more had to play-off for five spots.

he admitted he had a sleepless night after losing to Italian Matteo Manassero on the fourth extra hole at Wentworth in The European Tour’s flagship event on Sunday.

But he showed few side-effects in the wake of that disappointment as he led the 94 hopefuls competing in the 36 hole qualifying event for next month’s US Open Championship at Merion Golf Club.

The 40 year old followed an opening round of 67 on the Old Course with a 70 on the New Course for a seven under par total of 137, finishing one stroke clear of Englishman Paul Casey and South African Jaco Van Zyl.

“I’m delighted with today,” said Khan. “Yesterday I did everything I could. I would not have done anything different but it didn’t work out. When I won the BMW PGA Championship there was a downside in that I shut off a little bit after reaching one of my all-time goals of winning a tournament like that.

“Hopefully, this time I can look at it the other way round and kick on from here. I don’t know a lot about Merion but it looks fantastic from the pictures I’ve seen. It looks quite tricky and a bit shorter, which hopefully will suit me.

“It will be my third US Open and I love the tournament, so it will be fantastic to go back.”

Former Ryder Cup player Casey produced the round of the day, firing a superb 64 on the New Course after an opening 74 on the Old Course to seal his place in the season’s second Major Championship.

“I played lovely today,” said Casey, is slowly returning to form after recovering from a shoulder injury. “It was the first qualifier I’ve played, so I didn’t know what to expect. We had great crowds and it was a golf course I played a lot as a kid, so I’m ecstatic to come through.

“For me, the US Open is right up there along with The Open Championship. I don’t know a lot about Merion but I’ve played a lot of US Opens and I love them. I know it is going to be tough but I’m looking forward to it.”

Van Zyl joined Casey on six under par following rounds of 71 and 67 to earn his debut in a Major Championship in Pennsylvania.

“It’s great to be playing in my first Major,” he said. “I qualified earlier in the year for the US PGA but to get in this is fantastic. I’m just going to go and enjoy and not have any expectations.”

Morten Ørum Madsen finished fourth on five under par, while Australian Marcus Fraser and Sweden’s Peter Hedblom, who finished tied 11th in the 2005 US Open at Pinehurst, also ensured their spots on four under par, along with 22 year old rookie Eddie Pepperell of England.

Pepperell continued the form he showed in finishing tied sixth in the BMW PGA Championship at the weekend and will now continue his progression at the top level by making his debut in a Major Championship at Merion.

“I didn’t feel too tired today, which I thought I might have done after Wentworth,” he said. “I putted well again and just kept trying to do the things I did last week.

“It’s a massive tournament and it’s another opportunity to play at the highest level, which is something I’ve not done before. It will be a great experience for me. I enjoy tough courses and tough conditions so hopefully I can play well. It’s the next step up for me.”

Madsen was the last man on the course and his success meant a six-man play-off  for the final five spots, involving 2012 European Ryder Cup Captain José María Olazábal, Argentine Estanislao Goya, Scotland’s Chris Doak, Swede Rikard Karlberg and the English pair of John Parry and David Howell.

At the first play-off hole, Olazábal, Howell and Parry all made birdie to progress, Parry securing a Major Championship debut and Olazábal and Howell earning their first appearances at the US Open since 2007 and 2011 respectively.

Olazábal said: “I’m very pleased to be going to Merion. It’s not very often you are involved in a six-man play-off so I’m delighted to get through and get a place in the US Open.”

Howell said: “I’m delighted to get through. They were generous odds in the play-off but someone has to miss out, so thankfully I made it through.

“Things have been going better for me the last year or so but you want to be playing in the Major Championship. From what I hear Merion is a brilliant course and hopefully I can do well.”

Doak, Goya and Karlberg all made pars on the subsequent two additional holes before Karlberg struck a tree with his tee shot on the fourth and could only make bogey, meaning the Swede was the unfortunate man to miss out.

Both Goya and Doak will play in the US Open Championship for the first time, with Doak also making his debut in any of the four Majors after coming through 40 holes at Walton Heath.

He said: “I’m really excited about it. I’ve got one of the golden tickets and it is fantastic. I actually lost in a play-off for The Open Championship last year, so it’s nice to actually get to a Major.”

US Open Championship International Sectional Qualifier

Final scores

Pos Player Country R1 R2 Agg Par

1 Simon KHAN ENG 67 70 137 -7

2 Jaco VAN ZYL RSA 71 67 138 -6

Paul CASEY ENG 74 64 138 -6

4 Morten Ørum MADSEN DEN 67 72 139 -5

5 Peter HEDBLOM SWE 67 73 140 -4

Eddie PEPPERELL ENG 70 70 140 -4

Marcus FRASER AUS 71 69 140 -4

8 John PARRY ENG 66 75 141 -3

David HOWELL ENG 68 73 141 -3

José María OLAZÁBAL ESP 68 73 141-3

Estanislao GOYA ARG 69 72 141 -3

Chris DOAK SCO 71 70 141 -3

Rikard KARLBERG SWE 70 71 141 -3 1st Alternate

14 JB HANSEN DEN 74 68 142 -2 2nd Alternate

Mikko ILONEN FIN 72 70 142 -2

Lee SLATTERY ENG 73 69 142 -2

JB HANSEN DEN 74 68 142 -2

Simon DYSON ENG 72 70 142 -2

Chris PAISLEY ENG 68 74 142 -2

Espen KOFSTAD NOR 71 71 142 -2

Steve WEBSTER ENG 68 74 142 -2

Edoardo MOLINAR IITA 71 71 142 -2

22 Peter UIHLEIN USA 73 70 143 -1

Alexander NOREN SWE 69 74 143 -1

24 Bernd WIESBERGER AUT 67 77 144 0

Niclas FASTH SWE 71 73 144 0

Soren HANSEN DEN 71 73 144 0

David DRYSDALE SCO 71 73 144 0

Alejandro CAÑIZARES ESP 71 73 144 0

Romain WATTEL FRA 71 73 144 0

Rafa CABRERA-BELLO ESP 74 70 144 0

Thomas AIKEN RSA 74 70 144 0

Jorge CAMPILLO ESP 72 72 144 0

Robert ROCK ENG 76 68 144 0

Pablo LARRAZÁBAL ESP 67 77 144 0

Raphaël JACQUELIN FRA 72 72 144 0

David HORSEY ENG 70 74 144 0

37 Joel SJÖHOLM SWE 73 72 145 1

Marc WARREN SCO 71 74 145 1

Richard GREEN AUS 72 73 145 1

Justin WALTERS RSA 71 74 145 1

Daniel VANCSIK ARG 74 71 145 1

Ross FISHER ENG 73 72 145 1

43 Richard FINCH ENG 78 68 146 2

Søren KJELDSEN DEN 73 73 146 2

Andy SULLIVAN ENG 77 69 146 2

Thomas LEVET FRA 75 71 146 2

47 Magnus A CARLSSON SWE 78 69 147 3

Daniel POPOVIC AUS 70 77 147 3

Jarmo SANDELIN SWE 69 78 147 3

50 Andreas HARTØ DEN 75 73 148 4

Brett RUMFORD AUS 71 77 148 4

Grégory HAVRET FRA 73 75 148 4

Maximilian KIEFFERGER 75 73 148 4

54 Tom LEWIS ENG 74 75 149 5

Colin MONTGOMERIE SCO 71 78 149 5

Matthew BALDWIN ENG 74 75 149 5

57 Martin WIEGELE AUT 70 80 150 6

58 Gaganjeet BHULLAR IND 78 74 152 8

Billy HEMSTOCK ENG 73 79 152 8

Peter LAWRIE IRL 72 80 152 8

Grégory BOURDY FRA 76 76 152 8

Scott HENRY SCO 74 78 152 8

63 Rhys DAVIES WAL 73 80 153 9

64 Gareth MAYBIN NIR 81 73 154 10

65 Paul WARING ENG 73 RT

Darren FICHARDT RSA 72 RT

Alexandre KALEKA FRA 71 RT

Emiliano GRILLO ARG 76 RT

Shane LOWRY IRL 75 RT

Scott JAMIESON SCO 78 RT

Dawie VAN DER WALT RSA 79 RT

Oscar FLOREN SWE 78 RT

Jeev Milkha SINGH IND 75 RT

Fredrik ANDERSSON HED SWE 73 RT

Victor DUBUISSON FRA 69 RT

Mark TULLO CHI 79 RT

Garth MULROY RSA 76 RT

Ricardo SANTOS POR 76 RT

Eduardo DE LA RIVA ESP 76 RT

Lorenzo GAGLI ITA 77 RT

Johan EDFORS SWE 77 RT

Terry PILKADARIS AUS 77 RT

Tommy FLEETWOOD ENG 75 RT

Felipe AGUILAR CHI 72 RT

Oliver FISHER ENG 73 RT

Alvaro QUIROS ESP 79 RT

Fabrizio ZANOTTI PAR 77 RT

Shiv KAPUR IND 74 RT

Kristoffer BROBERG SWE 75 RT

Julien QUESNEFRA 77 RT

Wen-chong LIANGCHN 79 RT

92 Pablo MARTIN BENAVIDES ESP RT

Ross McGOWAN ENG RT

Richie RAMSAY SCO RT