THE Lothians challenge for a place in next week's Open Championship at Royal Birkdale petered out during the closing round of final qualifying yesterday.
Prestonpans professional Raymond Russell, who tied for fourth the last time the Open was held over the Southport links in 1998, brought the curtain down on his campaign with a seven-over 79 in tough conditions at Southport & Ainsdale.
The former
European Tour winner, always toiling after a first-round 75, had nine bogeys and one eagle in a turbulent round as he finished down the order with a ten-over aggregate of 154.
Dunbar's David Drysdale, who hit a one-over 73 in the first round, failed to return a score on day two as his challenge ended.
Edinburgh's former PGA champion Andrew Oldcorn, the halfway leader in the 1991 Open at Birkdale, withdrew at West Lancs after slumping to an opening 75.
His Capital colleague, David Patrick, posted a 79 to miss out with a 153 alongside Craigielaw's Mark Kerr while Dalmahoy pro Graeme Brown, the winner of the regional qualifying round at Musselburgh last week, finished on 156 after a second-successive 78.
James McGhee, of Turnhouse, signed off with a 79 for 159 while Longniddry amateur Myles Cunningham, the lone local hopeful at Hillside, shot a 78 to finish down the field there with a 155. Despite local disappointment, there was good news for Scotsman Barry Hume, who will join the tiny tartan army in next week's championship after coming through at West Lancs.
The former Scottish Amateur champion, who played in the 2004 Open at Troon, signed off with a five-over 75 but his one-over aggregate of 145 was good enough to gain the second of four places on offer behind No.1 qualifier Philip Walton, the Irish Ryder Cup player.
Hume, who will tee-up alongside fellow Scots Colin Montgomerie, Paul Lawrie and Sandy Lyle in the Open field next week, had been setting the pace in the qualifying race having opened with a two-under 70.
The 26-year-old, who has struggled to gain a foothold in the pro game despite being one of the country's brightest prospects during a fine amateur career, was still out in front through 12 holes of his second 18. But the Scot slipped to bogeys at the 14th, 15th and 17th and had to endure an anxious wait before his berth was confirmed.
"This is a huge lift and hopefully I can use this to kick-start my season," said Hume.
"I was going along nicely and then hit a very poor second shot at 14 which started a chain of events and led to a couple more bogeys. But I held on in there and I'm delighted to get through. Hopefully, I can use the experience of Troon to my advantage this time and have a good week at Birkdale."
The full article contains 488 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
