POTOMAC, Md. (PA) -- Lee Westwood and Greg Owen were among 12 players handed a start in next month's British Open on Tuesday.
The pair had been expecting to fight it out with 118 others -- mostly U.S. Tour players -- for a dozen places at Royal Liverpool in the American qualifying tournament at Congressional Country Club in suburban Washington, D.C.
But after postponing it for 24 hours on Monday and reducing it from 36 to 18 holes, the event was cancelled on Tuesday because of the bad weather that also saw the Booz Allen Classic at the nearby TPC at Avenel not completed until Tuesday morning.
Instead, the British Open spots were given to the top 12 players in the world rankings not otherwise eligible -- Tom Pernice, Brett Wetterich, Vaughn Taylor, Westwood, Owen, Bo Van Pelt, J.B. Holmes, Jerry Kelly, Ted Purdy, Steve Elkington, Jeff Maggert and Aaron Baddeley.
Those who missed out included Justin Rose and Brian Davis, but all of them have been given another chance to make it to Royal Liverpool. They have until midnight Thursday to decide whether they want to enter the 36-hole final qualifying at four courses near Liverpool on July 10-11.
A place in the British Open was certainly welcome news for Westwood, who finished fourth at Royal Troon just two years ago. The former European No. 1 last Friday missed his seventh successive halfway cut and then had to wait around in America for the qualifier before travelling on to this week's French Open in Paris.
There was real irony in Owen being given a spot without hitting a shot. A year ago he was at the center of controversy when he was overlooked for a place at St Andrews because he had withdrawn from the American qualifier.
He was totally unaware that it was taken as a withdrawal from the Open itself, and the wording on the entry form has been changed this time to make that clear.
Copyright 2006 PA Sport. All rights reserved.
