Nicolas Colsaerts led 11 qualifiers for the US Open Championship after a dominant display at Walton Heath Golf Club.
The big-hitting Belgian continued his fine form with a nine under par aggregate total to book his place in the field for the second Major Championship of the season at Congressional Country Club from June 16-19.
Colsaerts will be joined in Bethesda by Maarten Lafeber, Shane Lowry (who finished joint second), Thomas Levet (fourth), David Howell, Robert Rock (tied fifth), Robert Dinwiddie, Marcel Siem, Alexander Noren, Stephen Gallacher (tied sixth) and Johan Edfors, who took the 11th and final berth after a sudden-death play-off with Denmark’s Andreas Hartø.
Colsaerts’ appearance at the US Open Championship will be his first in a Major Championship in America, and the 28 year old is understandably relishing the prospect.
He said: “I remember Ernie [Els] winning at Congressional in 1997, so I can’t wait to get out there and experience it for myself. I think it’s the sort of course which will suit my game, so hopefully I can play well and enjoy it. I’ll probably have to work hard on my short game in the build-up, but I’m excited about it already. I came here with high hopes and did the hard part this morning with my round of 64, so this afternoon I was just able to go out there and enjoy it.”
Lafeber’s day was almost the polar opposite of Colsaerts, after a morning round of 73 over the Old Course left the Dutchman with the proverbial mountain to climb to ensure qualification.
But he rose to the task magnificently, shooting a scintillating round of 63 over the New Course in fast-fading light to surge through the pack and book his third trip to the US Open Championship.
He said: “I felt like walking off the course after the seventh hole, because I was level par for the day and one over par overall. But then I made eagle and followed it up with a birdie, and all of a sudden I got a little bit more interested. Then when I made two more birdies I got very excited, and to finish with three more from the 16th was an incredible feeling.”
Lowry was equally ecstatic after rounds of 69 in the morning and 67 in the afternoon secured him a first visit to the US Open Championship.
He said: “It feels great to qualify – I’ve never played the US Open before, so I can’t wait to get out there. I’ve been playing well for a while now and obviously came off a great result at the BMW PGA Championship, so I fancied my chances of qualifying. But it’s all very well fancying your chances, it’s quite another to go out there and do it, so I’m absolutely delighted.
“It was great to play with Thomas [Levet] today, we bounced off each other with the birdies and eagles we were making. It was tough towards the end but I’m pretty used to playing in wet and windy weather, coming from Ireland, so it wasn’t too much of a problem.”
The final act of a dramatic day saw Edfords and Hartø go head to head for the final spot after both men had finished on four under par, and it was the more experienced Swede who prevailed after parring the first extra hole.
