Simon Lilly, Andrew Johnston, Markus Brier and Andy Smith qualify for the Open Championship
Simon Lilly and Andrew Johnston, two aspiring English contestants for the Open Championship, finally made it through after a tight Playoff hole at the Final Qualifying at the Royal Cinque Ports.
The qualification has come as a breath of fresh air for the duo, that have been eagerly pitched to qualify for the last two spots in the field of the third major championship scheduled from July 10, at Royal St. George’s.
It marked a major feat for Lilly who is still recovering from a recent surgery undertaken to straighten his twisted Bowel. The Kettering resident is associated with Wellingborough Golf Club and has not been practicing for the whole year. On top of it all,
the golfer clinched the top spot with borrowed clubs.
"It is an amazing feeling knowing I am going to be playing in my first Open," said the 34-year-old Lilly, "You grow up watching the Open and I am looking forward to it so much."
Lilly shed some light on the difficult conditions he has been battering with and admitted that he didn’t have enough resources to buy new clubs. He added that he had been taking up ordinary jobs to make ends meet. An occasional player at Tudor Park, Lilly
has been trying to make a living by gardening, working as an assistant carpenter and even laboring for the past one year.
For Johnston, it was a feeling he was not able to express in words. The 22-year-old has been trying his luck to break into high profile events to attempt a big win.
"It does not feel real yet. I am going to go straight to Royal St George's now to have a look and see if they might even let me play," said the Londoner. "I have only played there once before and that was when I was about 14. I had a couple of chances on
the first few holes but hit a lovely shot on the fourth extra hole."
In another qualifying round, Mark Laskey overtook Dutchman Inder Van Weerelt on the Playoff to reserve a place at the Open. The qualifying round took place at Rye. Andy Smith posted a four-under, 138 to grab a place at the Open as the winner, while Markus
Brier, the European Tour player grabbed the spot after a five-way Playoff. This will be the third time Brier will be part of the field at the US Open. He has won twice on the European Tour.
The third major of the season, The Open Championship, is scheduled to start from July 10 at the scenic Royal St. George’s, one of the nine links courses which will test the international contingent on the field.
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