Date: March 27, 2007
Author: Sportal

Aussie trio qualify for Open

Australian trio Adam Groom, David Gleeson and Won Joon Lee will tee off in this year&aposs British Open after finishing in the top five positions during the Asian leg of Open qualifying. Groom fired a second round of 69 to finish on top of the leaderboard at nine-under-par, one clear of Gleeson, Scot Ross Bain and Singapore&aposs Chih-Bing Lam who all received automatic qualification. A triple bogey on the ninth hole momentarily halted Groom&aposs progress, but the 28-year-old New South Welshman nailied four birdies on the back nine to move to the top of the leaderboard. “This is fantastic being able to make it for my first ever major,” a delighted Groom said after his round. “There is going to be some change in my schedule but I&aposm definitely looking forward to it.” Lee shot a second round of 70 which left him tied for fifth place and he needed to win a playoff for the final position against Korean Jun Won Park. A three foot birdie putt on the playoff hole was all that was required by Lee, as his opponent made par leaving the Australian with a spot in his first ever major. “This is fantastic,” Lee said. “I was fully focused on my last shot at the play off and when it went it, I was really happy. That shot was one of my most crucial shots as I&aposve now sealed my place in Scotland.” “This is going to be my first major and I&aposm really excited. I&aposve been to Scotland before when I played at the St Andrews Links Trophy. So I can roughly know what to expect as I did get some feedback from the players about Carnoustie. I&aposm eager to go.” Final Results from International Final Qualifying-Asia (par 72): -9: Adam Groom (Australia) 66 69 -8: Chih-Bing Lam 70 66, Ross Bain 72 64, David Gleeson (Australia) 68 68 -7: Jun Won Park 69 68, Won Joon Lee (Australia) 67 70 -6: Sushi Ishigaki 67 71 -5: Tony Lascuna 69 70, Brad Kennedy (Australia) 71 68, Adam Blyth (Australia) 70 69, Shiv Kapur 72 67, Sungman Lee 70 69, Young Nam 70 69, Tadahiro Takayama 74 65, Rahil Gangjee 66 73 -4: Stephen Scahill (NZ) 73 67, Marcus Both (Australia) 72 68, Angelo Que 70 70, Wei Tze Yeh 76 64, Gaurav Ghei 70 70, Mardan Mamat 70 70, Arjun Singh 71 69