Will it be second time lucky for Ben Crane at the Open?
Ben Crane, so far, has had a pretty decent season. He has a good world ranking and quite a few FedEx Cup points. However, at the end of the day, he is not in the top 156 list of players who will be taking the field at the Royal Lytham & St. Annes in the
coming week.
Crane has had some decent finishes this season but they were not enough to earn him a spot at the Open Championship. Last year as well, he could not make it to the field initially but the last minute withdrawal of Phil Mickelson meant that Ben was next in
line to replace him.
This year, Ben is again the highest ranked player, at 54, not to be featuring at the Open. Nonetheless, the reserve list shows that he will be next in line to take the field in case in any player opts out. However, the chances are not very likely this season.
Of course every golfer in the world wants to take part in the oldest golf tournament of the world and nobody drops out for any reason.
Mark O'Meara withdrew on Tuesday but there are still 156 players ready to take the field. This time around, the case of 2008 is being repeated again.
There were four President’s Cup players who could not qualify even though they were in the top-50. In the end, three of them managed to qualify because they had a FedEx Cup ranking of under 20.
"We had a similar situation in 2008 at Royal Birkdale," Booth said, spokesman at the Open. "By the time a couple of players dropped out, it just resolved itself".
Webb Simpson most probably will not be seen at the Open this year. His wife is due to give birth to their second child and Simpson, in the past, has clearly stated that it is his family that gets the first priority instead of golf.
Another golfer who might miss the Open due to the same reason is Jason Day. His wife is expecting their first child and he plans to stay back home.
Crane is currently heading to Idaho along with his family to feature in John Deere Classic. He knows that he is the top most reserve but it is still not certain how many spots he is away from getting a place.
Nicolas Colsaerts’ victory at the World Match Play Championship meant that Ben Crane moved from 50th to 51st on the World Golf Rankings.
Ben would have hoped that Nicolas does not win in Spain because he had not entered in the qualifiers.
It might not be easy this time around for Ben to get into the Open but surely there is always a slight chance. He must not lose his focus and must keep performing well at whatever tournament he plays to be in the rhythm.
On the hand, Hunter Mahan is more determined than ever to land in the 2012 Open. Mahan feels that he is in better shape this time around, as he is fitter and healthier than ever before.
The Open starts on 19th July, till then all sorts of calculations and speculations will continue to go on.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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