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05.22.2007
08:21 pm (ET)
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Sean O'Hair made a bold bid to win THE PLAYERS Championship when he went after the flag on the island-green 17th at Sawgrass, went into the water and wound up making a quadruple-bogey 7. His tumble to 12th cost him $747,000 and perhaps a shot at the U.S. Open. Had he finished second -- no one else had a chance to catch Phil Mickelson -- O'Hair would have moved up to No. 47 in the world and likely would have stayed in the top 50 to avoid U.S. Open qualifying. Instead, he is No. 79 and faces 36 holes of qualifying after the Memorial if he wants an Oakmont tee time. Other players have a few more chances. This week is a major cutoff for being exempt from qualifying. The U.S. Open will take the top 50 in the world ranking, along with the top 10 from the PGA Tour money list and the top two in Europe. A couple of PGA Tour winners are on the bubble. Sony Open champion Paul Goydos is No. 49 and can help himself immensely with a good week at Colonial. Right behind is Tim Clark (50) and Hilton Head winner Boo Weekley (52). Lucas Glover is No. 51, but he already is in the U.S. Open from finishing in the top 30 of last year's money list. Angel Cabrera is No. 53 and playing the European Tour's BMW Championship at Wentworth, where he won two years ago. The big European Tour event has far more ranking points available than Colonial this week. Tampa winner Mark Calcavecchia is No. 55 and playing Colonial, although he might have a better chance with money. He's only $78,358 out of the top 10, which he could make up with at least a top-20 finish. Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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