Buckle gets last minute Open call up
IN: News | European PGA | British Open (2006) | General | by Bruce Young | 19 Jul 2006
As Australian, Andrew Buckle, prepared for this week's Nationwide Tour event, the Price Cutter Championship in Springfield, Missouri, he no doubt had one eye and one ear on his mobile phone, awaiting the possibility of a call from his manager, who was at the British Open to tell him that he had a start at the Open Championship.
There had been a strong suggestion that the pending arrival of Trevor Immelman's first child would disrupt the South African's British Open plans and the in form Western Open winner now has fatherhood duties to attend to in Florida this week rather than attempting to win the Open Championship.
At around midday on Tuesday (Missouri time), therefore, the call came and Buckle moved very quickly to get the wheels in motion to get himself from the middle of the US to Liverpool in order that he might get a look at the course before he tees it up with Thomas Bjorn and Davis Love at 2.31pm on the opening day. Buckle walks straight into the tee time vacated by Immelman. That tee time should work in Buckle's favour as it will give him a little more time to recover from the mad dash across the Atlantic.
Buckle had been on the verge of inclusion in the field since the then number one alternate, Simon Khan, replaced Justin Leonard last week. Leonard the 1997 Open Champion had been required for fatherhood duties also as his wife Amanda prepared to give birth to their third child. The alternate places had been determined on the world ranking standing as at July the 9th.
Buckle will play his second Open Championship, the first in 2004 when he qualified for the event via International Final Qualifying in Melbourne. On that occasion he struggled, but given that it was at a time in his career when he was nowhere near the experienced player he is now, it was perhaps understandable. With such a great year in both Asia and on the Nationwide Tour, Buckle is better placed to perform better in 2006 but he will have to overcome the last minute preparations caused by his late inclusion in the field.
Mind you, a nice problem to have.
