OPEN QUALIFIERS

Gailes Links 138 M Young (Eng) 68 70 140 P Kinnear* (Eng) 70 70; R Fox (NZ) 69 71 Hillside 141 S Arnold (Aus) 68 73; J Niebrugge* (US) 69 72; P Edberg (Swe) 70 71 my three-foot birdie putt,” said a tearful Kinnear, who’d earned his place in this line-up through winning a regional qualifier at West Lancs. “It was awful waiting around to see if I was going to get into a play-off and I think that’s why all the emotions have come flooding out.”

A late developer, Fox is making his first trip to Europe. “This is massive,” he declared. “My first major at the Home of Golf 135 P Dunne* (Ire) 70 65 138 R Dinwiddie (Eng) 70 68 139 R Goosen (SA) 70 69 Royal Cinque Ports W137 A Balcombe* (Eng) 67 70; B Taylor* (Eng) 70 67; G Boyd (Eng) 67 70 – it doesn’t get any better.” His father was in the All Blacks team that won the 1987 World Cup. “Golf is a bit easier on the body than rugby, where they always used to say, ‘let’s slam Foxy’s son,” he said, smiling.

Joint-second after an opening 68, Henry was in the rough too much in the afternoon as his bid was undone by a 73. “You can’t play from the thick stuff all the time,” groaned the Clydebank man. Mcleary reckoned he missed “12 putts inside ten feet” in the first 27 holes before finding his touch late on the greens while a final flourish also wasn’t enough for Ferguson. “Trying to make birdies down the stretch is what you practise for and it’s an experience I’ll learn from,” said the 2013 British Boys’ champion.

While three-times major winner Vijay Singh was a disappointing absentee after failing to turn up in Ayrshire, Montgomerie at least give it a go despite fighting jetlag at Woburn. “I just didn’t putt very well. Very poorly, in fact – I had chance after chance after chance,” said the Scot after finishing joint-15th in Buckinghamshire following rounds of 72 and 71. Two-times US Open champion Retief Goosen won a three-man play-off for the last spot there.