British Open Final QualifyingThe danger is in getting carried away with it all, as even the wary new kids on the block know. So Mark O'Sullivan, the Irish amateur champion, was intent on keeping his feet firmly on solid ground after shooting an opening round 68 at Prince's yesterday, one of four courses being used for British Open final qualifying.
"I'm only halfway there," he said, "the hard part is to finish the job."
Still, O'Sullivan's opening salvo in the 36-hole qualifying lottery was a commendable effort, and puts the dream of playing in the Open itself in his hands. The 22-year-old Galway player earned his place in the final qualifying courtesy of his win in the Irish Close - and, far from being intimidated, he produced a round that featured an eagle, five birdies and three bogeys that left him in third position at day's end, two behind joint-leaders Steen Tinning and Mariano Saiz.
With approximately seven places up for grabs at each course, O'Sullivan still has much work to do.
"It's fantastic to be here, to enjoy this sort of experience. It would be great if I manage to get through," he insisted.
The highlight of his round came on the par five 15th, where he hit a three-wood approach to six feet and holed the eagle putt.
Of the 14 Irish players involved in final qualifying, O'Sullivan is best positioned to join Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley and Gary Murphy in the field proper. However, Ciaran McMonagle, from Dunfanaghy, has also put himself in with an opportunity to join them. A former Irish Close champion, McMonagle earned his place in final qualifying by finishing in the top-80 on the Southern Africa Tour's moneylist and yesterday shot a 67 at North Foreland, to be tied-sixth.
McMonagle's round was an eventful one, which included going out of bounds - into a car park - on the par three ninth hole, where he suffered a double bogey five. That was to be his only mistake and he bounced back with birdies on the 13th and 15th to add to the four he picked up on the front nine.
English professional Simon Wakefield, though, stole the show at North Forelands with a course record 61. With his uncle Bob Taylor, a former English Test wicketkeeper operating as his caddie, Wakefield - who tied for fifth in the French Open last month - carded eight birdies and an eagle after travelling down from Loch Lomond where he missed the cut in the Scottish Open.
"I've just got to make sure that I do the business in the second round after that score," insisted Wakefield.
One of those on the 67 mark at North Foreland alongside McMonagle was Costantino Rocca, beaten in a play-off by John Daly at St Andrews in 1995, while Ian Woosnam - third at Royal Lytham and St Annes two years ago and enduring the qualifying minefield at Prince's this year - opened with a 70 in his bid to keep his record of playing in 21 successive Opens alive.
Jeff Maggert, one of the US Tour regulars attempting to come through final qualifying, had an unpleasant experience in shooting a 74 at Littlestone. His round took a bad turn on the 10th when he presumed his tee-shot went into a pond that adjoins the fairway. The trouble was that nobody saw the ball enter the water.
"There's 300 people there and nobody saw it," remarked an incredulous Maggert, who was forced to return to the tee by an R&A official and ended with a triple bogey seven.
BRITISH OPEN QUALIFYING
LITTLESTONE (par 71): 65 - S Bowditch (Aus) 68 - A Le Vesconte (Aus), R Coles, C Smith; 69 - M Davis, (x) S Godfrey, A Barnes (USA) 70 - (x) L Gauthier, G Lingard, A Wall, (x) P Bradshaw 71 - (x) J McGhee, P Curry, C Cevaer (Fra) 72 - P Wesselingh, A McLean, A Atwal (Ind), J Keely, L Atkinson, (x) E Butler, P Hinton, P Barber, J Hugo (Rsa), D Ryles, A Hare. Irish scores: 73 - C Moriarty 75 - J McGinn 76 - J Kehoe.
NORTH FORELAND (par 71): 61 - S Wakefield 65 - S Gardiner (Aus), G Emerson, H Otto (Rsa) 66 - I Keenan 67 - A Mednick (Swe), M Doyle (Aus), M Persson Atlevi (Swe), C Rocca (Ita), M Olander (Swe), (x) C Cousins, Ciaran McMonagle 68 - R Reid (Rsa), (x) W Bowe, A Sproston, S Struver (Ger), M Cort, S Dyson, A Millar, R Edwards, D Gleeson (Aus) 69 - S Harris, J Marshall, A Willey, B Hume, Gavin McNeill, (x) A Stott, G Ogilvy (Aus), (x) G Lockerbie, J Berendt (Arg), H Hoshino (Jpn), A George, M Hazelden, J Byrd. Irish score: 70 - D Sugrue
PRINCE'S (par 72): 66 - S Tinning (Den), M Saiz (Spa) 68 - (x) Mark O'Sullivan 69 - A Raitt, P Saunders, M Ruiz (Par) 70 - B Vaughan (Rsa), D Dixon, J Moseley (Aus), I Woosnam 71- D Drysdale, J Greaves, I Kerr, M Goggin (Aus), M James, S Hend, I Ellis 72 - R Green, M Ettl (Aut), A Wainwright, John Dwyer, F Orest (Swe), Per-U Johansson (Swe), S Fitton, J Lomas. Irish scores: 73 - T Rice, P Dooley 74 - S Paul 75 - G Loughrey
ROYAL CINQUE PORTS (par 72): 67 - (x) S Tiley 68 - J Langmead 69 - M Smith, M Brier (Aut), G Day (USA), D Greenwood 70 - M Mackenzie, B Crane (USA), R Brown, S Vinnicombe 71 - (x) J Kemp, P Fowler (Aus), S Scahill (Nzl) 72 - M Warren, M Woods, A John (Ind), I Ridgway, (x) S Buckley, F Mansson (Swe), M Eliasson (Swe). Irish scores: 78 - J Sugrue 80 - G Cullen
