Archer joy at hitting Open target

Fourteen years after he first started trying to qualify for the Open Championship, England’s Phillip Archer has finally made it.

The 36-year-old from Warrington finished joint seventh in the 36-hole qualifier at Sunningdale, his first success in 12 attempts.

“It’s just great – a dream,” said Archer. “I’ve watched The Open ever since Seve Ballesteros won at St Andrews in 1984 and after missing out by one shot four times I’m going to be part of it now.

“It’s fantastic that it’s Royal Birkdale too. That’s local for me and members of my club, Birchwood, are marshalling one of the holes.”

Archer was one of 32 players to qualify yesterday – 18 in Europe and 14 in America.

The Sunningdale event was won by England’s Simon Wakefield and Argentina’s Ariel Canete, but there was no joy for the three members of the 2006 Ryder Cup team in the 120-strong field.

Darren Clarke missed by eight strokes, Paul McGinley by three and Jose Maria Olazabal lost at the third hole of a play-off in which six players were battling for the last two spots.

Alastair Forsyth and Ross McGowan bogeyed the first, Chris Rodgers the second and then twice Masters champion Olazabal, third behind Tiger Woods and Colin Montgomerie at St Andrews only three years ago, could not recover from driving into thick rough on the next.

English pair Peter Baker and Simon Dyson went through instead, Baker after rolling home a 40-foot birdie putt on the final green of regulation play 12 months after a 12-footer there got him in.

Clarke and McGinley will try again at the European Open this week – like next week’s Scottish Open, a top-five finish could get them to Birkdale – but Olazabal is considering taking some more time off.

It was only in March he returned from seven months out with rheumatism and the Open qualifier was his first event for more than a month.

He is struggling with fatigue now, and said: “I’m going home to take a rest and see if everything keeps improving.

“Because it’s The Open it was a good reason to come, but it was basically a test for me. I haven’t played at all and can’t practice much, so I wasn’t really expecting great things.

“The doctors have taken one of my medicines away, but we have to do this gradually to see if I improve. It’s going to take two months at least to see if my body is cured.”

Thomas Bjorn, who lost the 2003 Open from three ahead with four to play, pulled out with a shoulder injury and is doubtful for the European Open at The London Club in Kent.

“It’s disappointing,” said the Dane. “Unless a miracle happens it’ll be the first Open I’ve missed since 1995 (Clarke has played every one since 1991), but my shoulder is a bit more important.”

Teenager Rory McIlroy, top amateur at Carnoustie last year and a brilliant third after the opening round, did not qualify either, but the other British players who did were Ross Fisher, Paul Waring, Anthony Wall and David Horsey.