Doak secures US Open return
27/05/2014
Former PGA No.1 Chris Doak followed up a strong showing at Wentworth to come through US Open qualifying at Walton Heath and secure a place at Pinehurst next month.
Doak, who won the PGA Play-Offs in 2008, carded rounds of 68 and 71 on the Old and New Courses to finish five-under-par and book one of 14 spots available.
It followed his joint 12th finish in the BMW PGA Championship and earns the 36 year old a second stab at the US Open having also qualified for it last year.
“I’m really proud of myself, given the weather conditions, and delighted that I’m going to be playing in my second US Open,” he said.
“I continued my Wentworth form, shooting four under this morning, and when the rain came on heavy this afternoon, it was just a case of taking my chances when I could.”
Shane Lowry, runner-up at Wentworth, topped the qualifiers at eight under par with rounds of 69 on the New Course in and 67 on the Old in the afternoon.
His feat was all the more impressive given the heavy rain all day at the Surrey venue.
“It was really tough out there,” said Lowry. “I played okay and putted really, really well. I holed a lot of six to eight footers for par and carried a lot of momentum in from yesterday to get the job done.
“I can’t wait to get to Pinehurst. Majors are where I want to be playing. Last week I was comfortable competing down the stretch with the likes of Thomas Björn, Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald, so I’ve got a lot of confidence and I’ll take that with me to Pinehurst.”
A total of 105 players turned out in hope of winning one of the 14 spots on offer, plus two alternates. In addition to Doak and Lowry, those to automatically win a spot were Swede Niclas Fasth, Englishmen Simon Griffiths and Graeme Storm, Germans Marcel Siem and Max Kieffer, South African Garth Mulroy and American Brooks Koepka.
Six players had to play off for the final four spots. England’s Oliver Fisher, Italian Andrea Pavan and Dane Lucas Bjerregaard all made birdie at the first extra hole to claim the first three places, and the last to make the grade was Tom Lewis, courtesy of a 30 foot birdie putt, leaving Morten Madsen and Danny Willett as alternates.
