Dougherty laughs off Open questions

Nick Dougherty could not stop himself from laughing last night after the inevitable question came up following his victory in the BMW International Open in Germany.

The one-stroke win over Argentina’s Rafa Echenique, who in a dramatic finish sank a 243-yard three-iron for an albatross two on the closing hole, earned Dougherty a place in the Open at Turnberry.

Asked about his chances of now winning a major the 27-year-old from Liverpool just chuckled and said: “It’s amazing how quickly the questions change.

“A few weeks ago people were asking me ’Are you going to get your form back?’ and ’How are you going to work your way back to being one of the better players in Europe?’

“Now it’s about majors. I love it.”