Fuente: © Southern Africa Tour
http://www.sunshinetour.com/

GOLF: SOUTHERN AFRICA TOUR: Smit qualifies for Senior Open Championship

/noticias.info/ Bertus Smit took the South African challenge to four when he came through the Final Qualifying on Monday to secure a place in the field for the 2008 Senior Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club this week.

Smit, who tied for second behind winner Tony Johnstone at the Jersey Seniors Classic in June, finished four shots behind Irish amateur Adrian Morrow (70) at Western Gailes, one of three courses to host the qualifiers.

Smit won more than 100 Open titles in South Africa and represented Western Province from 1979 to 1994.

After 30 years of farming, Smit sold up to follow his golfing dream. He featured prominently on mini tours in America, finishing top of the Sunbelt Senior Professional Golf Tour Money List in 2002 and 2003.

Following a highly successful amateur career, the Malmesbury wheat farmer turned professional in 2000 and finished second at the 2005 European Seniors Tour Qualifying School Finals in Portugal.

He enjoyed a fine rookie year in 2006 finishing in the top-10 eight times in 16 starts, but failed to record a top-10 finish in the 2007 season and finished just outside the top-50 on the Order of Merit.

Fifteen players qualified from each of the three venues.

Scot Craig Maltman, John A Fraser, Mike Gallagher, Jim Lapsley, David A Russell and Steve Stull tied at 74 at Dundonald Links while the English trio of Andrew Hall, Phil Hinton and Andrew Reynolds led the way at Glasgow Gailes on 73.

The qualifiers will tee it up on Thursday alongside Greg Norman, who will attempt to write another chapter in golfing history is his Senior Open debut alongside defending champion Tom Watson and other former Major champions Gary Player, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam.

Norman and Watson will start as the favourites.

Norman, who had a starring role in the spellbinding Open Championship now turns his attention to the Senior version as Scotland’s west coast provides the links backdrop for the strongest field assembled in the Championship’s 22 year history.

Norman, seeking his maiden Senior Major, cannot come into the event in better form. The Great White Shark finished third behind Tom Watson at Royal Aberdeen in 2005 on his only appearance in The Senior Open Championship so far and showed last week he has lost none of his competitive fire.

Royal Birkdale was initially merely the warm up for Norman’s assault on The Senior Open Championship but it turned out to be an incredible week as he delighted the world of sport in his bid to win golf’s greatest prize at the age of 53.

After the extreme weather conditions in Lancashire, the Australian is hoping for some respite from the elements on the Ayrshire coast. Royal Troon, of course, was where he narrowly lost in a three-way play-off in 1989 with winner Mark Calcavecchia and countryman Wayne Grady after starting with six consecutive birdies en route to a 64 to take the Championship into extra holes

Watson, who equalled Player’s record of three Senior Open Championship titles last year, chases a record fourth title on a course where he claimed the fourth of his five Open Championship titles in 1982, clawing back Nick Price’s three shot lead with six holes to play in a thrilling finale.

Watson will try to create a unique piece of history by winning The Senior Open Championship on a third course where he also lifted The Open Championship, following his previous double victories at Turnberry and Muirfield.

Finally, with further local interest provided by John Bland and Bobby Lincoln, the stage is set for the most fiercely contested and eagerly anticipated battle in Championship’s history. notas_de_prensa_archivo