Date: February 06, 2007
Author: Sportal

Four more Aussies into Open

Sportal Four more Australians have made the field for the British Open to be played at Carnoustie in July, with Ewan Porter, Peter Fowler, Ben Bunny and Scott Laycock qualifying after the two-round event at The Lakes in Sydney on Tuesday. Porter finished first in the qualification event, carding rounds of 66 and 69 to be 11-under, three strokes clear of Fowler who stormed home with a course record 64 in his second round after an opening 74. Bunny and Laycock finished tied for third with Chris Campbell on five-under, but with only four players able to make it through, the former two needed to survive a sudden-death playoff. Laycock made birdie on the 10th in the playoff to qualify as Bunny and Campbell could manage only pars. And when Bunny made birdie on the 11th to Campbell&aposs par, the Victorian secured his place in the year&aposs third major. Victorian Peter Wilson, who was prominent on the leaderboard in the MasterCard Masters at Huntingdale last November, finished an agonising one stroke adrift of the playoff at four-under. Fellow Victorians Andrew Tschudin, Luke Hickmott and Alistair Presnell were a stroke further back. Veterans Craig Parry and Greg Chalmers, along with big-hitting Queenslander Jason Day, were among those to miss out on a berth. Former top amateur Lucas Parsons had a day he would prefer to forget, the laconic New South Welshman signing for a second round 80 after an opening 69 had him in a strong position.