Rafael Cabrera-Bello earns a place at US Open with a strong performance in Volvo World Match Play Championship
The trailblazing Spaniard Rafael Cabrera-Bello did not make it to the final clash of the titans at last week’s Volvo World Match Play Championship but his strong performance over the weekend did earn him a consolation prize-a place in the US Open next month.
Cabrera-Bello played well through the week to forge his way up in the last eight on the final day of the event but had to suffer a setback when he was shoved out of the final round by the rampaging Graeme McDowell by two strokes on Sunday.
Nevertheless, the 27-year-old Spaniard is happy over his performance and will now be looking forward for his second appearance in the major event at the Olympic Club in San Francisco on June 14-17.
He said, "I'm proud of myself, it's been a good week. Overall I played really well and I'm very excited about the tournaments coming up. It'll great to be at the U.S. Open again”.
Winner of the star-studded Dubai Desert Classic in February this year, Cabrera-Bello will be returning to the US Open field poised in the top-60 on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).
The sturdy Spaniard is currently ranked number 57 on the OWGR and was poised at number 61 before he started off his bid in the 24-player field at Finca Cortesin, Spain.
Cabrera-Bello made his last appearance in the second major event of the year, the US Open in the year 2010 at Pebble Beach, finishing for a low of joint 47th.
After pitching a successful amateur career where he won the Spanish National Championship at every age group level from under-7 through under-18, Cabrera-Bello turned professional in the year 2005 and joined the Challenge Tour on the European Tour.
He won his first professional title on the Challenge Tour in 2006, The Man No Open in Austria.
He finished for a high of 13th in the Order of Merit, thereby earning his European Tour card for the first time in his career. He failed to keep up with his good form and lost the card for 2008.
With another Challenge Tour victory Credit Suisse Challenge in 2008, Cabrera-Bello regained his playing status on the European Tour and landed his first mainstream victory, The Austrian Golf Open in 2009, thus confirming his place for the next year.
Cabrera-Bello has five professional victories so far in his career and will be playing in a major event for the second time in his career.
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