Dodt narrowly misses Open start
BY Bruce Young | Asian Tour | 2010 British Open International Final Qualifying - Asia | Round Two | 11 Mar 2010
Queensland’s Andrew Dodt has narrowly missed out on a start at this year’s Open Championship after a second round of 65 at the Asian Tour’s version of International Final Qualifying today.
Dodt finished in a share of 5th position just one shot outside the top four who earned the right to play at St Andrews in July.
Dodt’s did his best to overcome a slow start with a second round of 65 but he fell just short. The recent winner of the Avantha Masters in New Delhi may yet earn his way through a top five finish at either the French of Scottish Opens or if he can be one of the leading three players inside the top twenty in the Race To Dubai and not otherwise exempt by mid May. He is currently in 13th position.
The 36 hole test was staged at the Saujana Golf Club near Kuala Lumpur where Japan’s Hiroyuki Fujita, Malaysian Danny Chia, and Koreans Noh Seung Yul and 20 year old amateur Eric Chun were successful in earning the right to play.
40-year-old Fujita was a two time winner on the Japan Golf Tour last year and previously played the Open Championship at St Andrews in 2005.
Chia has played the Asian Tour since 1998 with just the one win to his name that coming in 2002 at the Taiwan open. Interestingly however the 38 year old also earned the right to play at the 2005 Open at St Andrews and at Royal Birkdale in 2008.
Last Sunday 18 year old Noh won the Malaysian Open at the nearby Kuala Lumpur golf and Country Club and continued his amazing rise in world golf having now gained the right to play in his first major championship.
Chun plays collegiate golf in the US at Northwestern University in Illinois and earned his way into the qualifying field by finishing runner up at the Asian Games.
