• Open Championship qualifying

Open disappointment for Monty and Olazabal

Colin Montgomerie had a tough time at Sunningdale © Getty Images

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Colin Montgomerie and Jose Maria Olazabal failed to hit the target in Open Championship qualifying at Sunningdale on Monday.

Montgomerie missed out on securing a place in the Open at Royal Lytham by one stroke following rounds of 66 and 70. He had a chance to force his way into a play-off but a bunker shot on 18 missed by six feet.

Olazabal, the man who succeeded Montgomerie as Europe's Ryder Cup captain, held every chance but mistakes crept in during his second round and had to settle for rounds of 67 and 71.

Olazabal said: "I made a great start but then missed too many putts and when I hit a bad shot on 16 that was it."

Both Olazabal and Montgomerie can still qualify if they claim top-five finishes in either the French or Scottish Open.

Danny Willett, who was celebrating victory in the BMW International Open 24 hours previous, did not back up that display as he missed out by four shots.

Successful in qualifying was James Morrison who secured victory thanks to rounds of 63 and 68. He finished two shots clear of Sam Walker who will make his Open debut after 10 previous attempts to qualify.

Jamie Donaldson hit a course record 62 to claim a share of third with Alejandro Canizares, Marcus Fraser, Richard Finch, Ross Fisher and Matthew Baldwin.

The final places in the field for the 141st Open Championship went to Thorbjorn Olesen and Lee Slattery who came through a play-off.

West Ham midfielder Gary O'Neil took part in Open qualifying at the London Club, but his bid ended in disappointment as a round of 79 saw him comfortably miss out by six shots. Former Newcastle midfielder Lee Bowyer was also in the field and he too shot a 79 to miss out.

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