ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (PA) -- Former PGA Championship winner Bob Tway received a place in next week's Open Championship on Thursday after fellow American Billy Mayfair withdrew.
Mayfair qualified last Sunday from a mini-Order of Merit in America, but then turned the opportunity down for "scheduling and personal reasons."
Tway comes in as the next highest ranked player in the world rankings, as did Jose Maria Olazabal last Thursday when Seve Ballesteros pulled out of the field.
Meanwhile, England's Greg Owen reacted furiously after learning that the spot that went to Tway could have been his.
Tway got the spot after several players higher than him in the world rankings -- including Owen, Arron Oberholser and Jeff Maggert -- were passed over because they withdrew from last week's American qualifying tournament and were therefore deemed to have pulled out of the Open itself.
"It's unbelievable. I just can't believe it," said Owen. "I filled in my entry form [for the qualifier], paid my fee and I didn't have a clue that not playing last week meant this."
The entry form makes no mention of the consequence of scratching from a qualifier, but Royal and Ancient Club Spokesman Stewart McDougall confirmed Thursday that has been the R&A position all along.
"It happened with David Frost last year after he did not play in the international final qualifying tournament in South Africa and it remains the case," he said.
Owen's only hope of making the Open now is to be the leading player not already qualified at the end of the Barclays Scottish Open on Sunday night.
The Open place would have gone to Owen if he had teed off in the qualifier at Canoe Brook in New Jersey, but he decided not to because he had also entered the Smurfit European Open at the K Club near Dublin that began just two days later.
Bernhard Langer is now next on the list to get into the Open. He did take part in the qualifier in New Jersey and is the next highest non-exempt player.
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