IFQ: Kulacz, Millar and Barnes qualify for Open Championship 2011
Rick Kulacz, Matthew Millar, and Kurt Barnes will cruise all the way to England for the Open Championship 2011. The trio bagged top three spots of the leaderboard in 11th International Final Qualifying to head for the major.
After one hectic hot morning, the trio walked the course of Kingston Heath as the lucky qualifiers. The tournament started in sweaty conditions on 11
January 2011 with a field of 51 players. Millar shot a score of 10-under par in 36-hole session and clinched the title of the winner after a breathtaking playoff.
The winner was astonished and at the same time surprised at his achievement, as Open Championship will be his debut major.
Speaking to the press, Millar said, “My wife gave birth on Wednesday so I haven’t had a chance to play much golf and practice so maybe that’s the secret for me. I can’t wait, this has been a goal I set this year and it’s good to achieve one so now I can
move on to the next one. I’ve played a bit of golf over in Scotland when I was on tour, but never at Royal St George’s so I’m really looking forward to the experience.”
Similar sentiments were portrayed by Barnes, who finished one stroke shy from the winner. The Welshman is a member at Kingston Heath, which helped him get away with a second place finish.
One stroke behind him was Rick Kulacz from West Australia. He gave a similar statement to Millar with regards to practice. The 23-year-old said, “I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be on the first tee of the playoff, but I have been battling hooks
so I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d hit it 70m left. My first Major- it is going to be great. An Australian has won there (Royal St George’s) before, so I’m really looking forward to what it’s all about.”
Meanwhile, Peter Senior failed to fulfil his bid of winning the IFQ. The Aussie finished sixth alongside Peter Fowler and will not proceed further.
Rick Kulacz, Matthew Millar, and Kurt Barnes will head towards the historical course of St George, where they will compete with top players of the world for the Claret Jug.
Tags: