 Olazabal's last Open was at Royal Liverpool in 2006 |
Jose Maria Olazabal has it all to do in the second and final round of Open qualifying after a 70 left him three off the lead at Kilmarnock Barassie. Scotland's Elliot Saltman shot a 67, while at Kilmarnock Barassie his brother Lloyd fired a first-round 66 to be one behind Austria's Markus Brier. Scottish amateur James Byrne leads the third local final-qualifying tournament after a 68 at Western Gailes. The Open takes place at Turnberry and starts next Thursday. Because he was competing in the French Open on Sunday, Olazabal hired a private jet to get him to the qualifier and was unable to squeeze in a practice round. The 43-year-old Spaniard said: "I walked 14 holes and it didn't really count against me. I need something special to make it now, but the way I am playing it's not looking very promising." Olazabal's situation, however, is far more promising than that facing 1999 Open runner-up Jean Van de Velde. After a late-night flight from Paris, Van de Velde bogeyed the first four holes at Glasgow Gailes and finished with a five-over 76. The Saltman brothers, meanwhile, are bidding to become the first brothers in the same Open since Seve and Manuel Ballesteros 25 years ago - when Seve won. Four years ago at St Andrews Lloyd took the silver medal as leading amateur by finishing 15th and two years ago he was a team-mate of Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy at the Walker Cup. A total of 288 players are competing for the 12 remaining places. Four spots are available at each of the three local final-qualifying courses.
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