Lupton still in the hunt for Open slot

Jul 8 2008 The Journal

THE scramble for the 12 remaining places in next week’s Open Championship at Birkdale produced its usual share of mixed emotions yesterday.

And if you were a betting man, you’d be putting money on Hartlepool’s Graeme Storm being the region’s only player to be teeing it up a week on Thursday after a disappointing day for the North East and Cumbria contingent at final qualifying at Hillside, Southport and Ainsdale and West Lancashire.

Jonathan Lupton, Craig Goodfellow, James Harper, George Cowan and Vince Guest will disagree as they were all around par with PGA Cup international Goodfellow and Lupton one under at Hillside and Southport and Ainsdale respectively. And, given the paucity of low scores, they may be right.

But with just four spots at each of the three courses, they will need to go for it in the final 18 holes today. Lupton and Goodfellow have the best chance but they will both need something special and Lupton believes he can do it.

“I played brilliant today,” said the 29-year-old Middlesbrough pro. “I’ve hit it as good as I can remember and, to be honest, I’m a little bit disappointed with the score. If I play like that again tomorrow and hole a few putts, who knows?”

Birdies at the seventh and eighth saw him turn in two under and another birdie at 13 was flanked by irritating bogeys at 11 and 14.

The 71 leaves him six shots off the pace set by Australian Scott Arnold, but Lupton feels one of the four qualifying spots is within reach as does Goodfellow after his 71 at Hillside.

“It was a pretty solid round,” said the Carlisle Driving Range pro, who dropped a shot at the third, got one back at 11 and after another dropped shot at 12, birdied 15 and 17. “I didn’t make many mistakes and I’m pretty pleased because it gives me a chance of making it tomorrow,”

Westerhope’s George Cowan deserved better than his 73, also at Hillside, after being two under after five. A double bogey at 13 cost him dear.

Cowan’s boss at Westerhope, Michael Nesbit, posted 76 with the damage being done on the back nine with a bogey at 13 and a double bogey at 15 after a solid front nine.

Seaton Carew’s James Harper posted 73, one over par, at Southport and Ainsdale. After dropping six shots, including a triple bogey at the ninth, he battled back with five birdies.

“I’m happy with that after the start I made,” said Harper, who has been finding his feet on the Europro Tour this year. “I was three over, got it back to level and then let a few shots slip again, but finished well.”

Stocksfield’s Chris Paisley, one of England’s top amateurs and a member of the Walker Cup squad, had what he described as an “average day” with a 75 at Southport and Ainsdale, but 17 pars and one bogey at the 448 yard fifth would hardly qualify as average for the average golfer.

Eaglescliffe’s Ryan Riley and South Moor’s Hugh MacDonald both had bad days, sliding to 79s. Riley double-bogeyed 14 and 15 and also dropped one at the next. MacDonald had a nightmare front nine after a birdie at the first, dropping shots at the second, fourth, fifth, eighth and ninth.

Two more went at 11 and 12 and MacDonald, who is a much better player than that, simply had a bad day at the office

Over at West Lancashire, Teesside’s Vince Guest recovered from a real setback when he started bogey, double bogey.

That would have been enough to shatter most players, but Guest is a scrapper and he parred all the way to the ninth where he picked up a birdie and despite dropping a shot at 11, birdies at 16 and 17 saw him home in one over par.

Morpeth’s David Clark shot 74 at West Lancs and reckoned his score should have been a couple better.

“I had a solid front nine,” he said, “but I was a bit all over the place on the back nine.” He did birdie the difficult 420-yard 18th with a massive drive to just 90 yards short of the green followed by a wedge to eight feet. Kendal amateur James Atkinson will also be disappointed with his 79 at West Lancashire.

LEADING SCORES

SOUTHPORT AND AINSDALE: 66 S Arnold (Aus); 69 F McGuirk (Prince’s); 70 J Howarth (unattached), M Murphy (unattached), J Bevan (Wessex Golf Centre), *I Winstanley (Formby).

Other North East and Cumbria players’ scores: 71 J Lupton (Middlesbrough), 73 J Harper (Seaton Carew); 75 *C Paisley (Stocksfield); 78 R Riley (Eaglescliffe); 79 H MacDonald (South Moor).

HILLSIDE: 67 J Elson (Kenilworth); 68 I Walley (Shirland);70 M Laskey (Shire), S Bennett (Waltham Windmill), D Marmion (unattached), D Willett (unattached), J Van der Velde (Fr), G Murray (unattached).

Other North East and Cumbria players’ scores: 71 C Goodfellow (Carlisle DR); 73 G Cowan (Westerhope); 76 M Nesbit (Westerhope).

WEST LANCASHIRE: 70 B Hume (unattached); 71 A Sproston (High Legh Park),M Mouland (unattached), D Greenwood (Forest Pines); 72 P Walton (unattached), D Parris (North Foreland), P Appleyard (Wildernesse), *J Palmer (Kirby Muloe).

Other North East and Cumbria players’ scores: 73 V Guest (Teesside); 74 D Clark (Morpeth); 79 *J Atkinson (Kendal).

*denotes amateur.