The Open :: Young wins Gailes qualifier

• Mark Young wins Open qualifier at Glasgow Gailes
• Ryan Fox and Paul Kinnear also make it to St Andrews
• Ewen Ferguson and Scott Henry just miss out on play-off

Englishman Mark Young shot four-under-par to win the final Open qualifying event at Glasgow Gailes, with Paul Kinnear and Ryan Fox grabbing the other two spots in a play-off at the expense of Welshman Rhys Davies.

The 33-year-old, who only turned professional in November 2014 after ‘getting fed up with amateur golf’, carded rounds of 68 and 70 to secure his place at the Home of Golf in two weeks’ time.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Mark Young, who previously worked full-time fitting conservatories while playing the amateur game. “I’ve played a couple of Links Trophy tournaments as an amateur and always loved it there so I’m really looking forward to heading back there for the Open.”

But Young’s round wasn’t without its near-catastrophe, and he hailed a wayward tee shot at the 14th as one of the luckiest he’s hit in his life.

“The tee shot was up there with the luckiest” – Mark Young

“I made an interesting four on the par-5 14th. I thought it was on the train track and I’d never see it again but it was on the road alongside it and I hit it from there, onto the green and I walked off laughing. The tee shot was up there with the luckiest and it was just a very fortunate four.”

With Young two shots clear at the top, the final two spaces were decided in extra holes with Kinnear, Fox and Davies all finishing on two-under-par. And it was 21-year-old Paul Kinnear who made the first move, birdieing the first hole to secure his spot.

The Liverpool amateur came into final Open qualifying in top form, winning the regional qualifier at West Lancashire before finishing third at the Brabazon Trophy behind Irish pair Cormac Sharvin and Gavin Moynihan last week.

“To make it to the Open is really special” – Paul Kinnear

“I played last year at Hillside but missed out by four shots and I chose to go there again this year and Glasgow Gailes was actually my third choice,” explained Kinnear. “But as soon as I played yesterday I loved it and I felt really good out there today.

“I was really confident coming into qualifying and to make it to the Open is really special. I played in the Links Trophy there and all the stands were up so imagining them being full of people will be pretty special.”

The final space went to New Zealander Ryan Fox, son of legendary All Blacks rugby player Grant, who capitalised on a wayward tee shot from Davies on the 18th, with a par enough to clinch a visit to St Andrews.

“This is the first proper links golf course I’ve ever played but I enjoyed it out there today and to play at St Andrews will be a dream for me.”

It wasn’t to be for Scott Henry though as, feeling as though he needed a birdie to get to three-under-par for the tournament, he went for it out of the rough with his second shot, only to fall short of the green before a tricky up-and-down resulted in a bogey.

“Two-over this afternoon just wasn’t good enough,” conceded Henry. “I wasn’t putting myself in good enough positions off the tee and in the end, that’s what’s cost me the most.”

“The conditions calmed down totally and I’d targeted three-under as the score that’d give me a chance to qualify. I was two-under coming down the last but I didn’t get my second shot right at all – I was going right at the pin, it came out soft and it left me with a pretty horrible up-and-down.”

Two-time winner on the Amateur circuit Ewen Ferguson also came up agonisingly short, ruing a clutch of missed short putts to finish one shot off the play-off.

However, the Bearsden youngster vowed to come back stronger and admitted he thoroughly enjoyed the experience of playing alongside European Tour player Scott Jamieson, who finished on four-over-par.

“I had so much fun coming down the stretch, made two birdies with three holes to go and had to make one more but it wasn’t to be and that’s what you practice for.

“It was amazing and it was great playing with Scott, too. Obviously things weren’t going his way but he was so well-mannered towards me and so experienced and I think that helped me.”

Elsewhere, Colin Montgomerie failed to qualify at Woburn, finishing T15 with those spots going to Paul Dunne, Robert Dinwiddie and Retief Goosen, who battled through in a play-off against Adam Gee and Jamie Moul.

At Royal Cinque Ports, Alister Balcombe, Benjamin Taylor and Gary Boyd progressed, while at Hillside, it was Scott Arnold, Jordan Niebrugge and Pelle Edberg who made it through.