Cayeux, Ahlers and Kavanagh qualify

for Open Championship at Turnberry

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY R&A
Durban, South Africa: Marc Cayeux shot a second-round 68 at Royal Durban Golf Club to win International Final Qualifying – Africa. The Zimbabwean ensured his place in the starting field when the Open Championship returns to Turnberry in July.
Cayeux arrived at Royal Durban in good form, having narrowly missed out on retaining his Nashua Masters title on Sunday and he carried on that form, shooting 69 in his first round and producing four birdies and just two bogeys for a 68 in the second. His two-round total of 137 was enough to top the leaderboard.
“I feel pretty honoured to be playing in the Open, and at the age of 31 I feel I’ve done well, so I’m happy,” said Cayeux. “I want to play well, soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the experience.”
England’s Jeremy Kavanagh waited until the final hole to seal his place at Turnberry. To avoid a play-off for third, Kavanagh, who led overnight, needed to make par at the last to qualify along with South Africa’s Jaco Ahlers and Cayeux. The Englishman held his nerve to capture the last place on offer in the world’s oldest championship.
“I feel a bit shocked and the feeling has not sunk in yet, but I’ve got mixed emotions and don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” said an emotional Kavanagh. “I’ve got to give credit to my family who backed me all the way, and I’m really looking forward to playing in the Open and doing something special there.”
Ahlers finished his round with five birdies, shooting the lowest score of the tournament with a flawless round of five under-par 65 to secure his entry into The Open.
“I can’t wait to go to Turnberry, I don’t have a clue of what to expect, but I’m excited to play on a Scottish links course,” said the Pretoria pro.
Attention now turns to IFQ – Australia taking place next Tuesday at Kingston Heath, Melbourne.
The Open Championship will be played at Turnberry from 16-19 July, 2009.

FINAL TOTALS
Players from South Africa unless stated
Par 140 (2 x 70)
137 Marc Cayeux (Zim) 69 68
138 Jaco Ahlers 73 65, Jeremy Kavanagh (Eng) 67 71
139 Doug McGuigan 70 69, Tyrone Ferreira 69 70, Christiaan Basson 70 69
140 Adilson da Silva (Bra) 67 73, Tyrone van Aswegen 69 71, Warren Abery 73 67, Alan Michell 71 69, Bradford Vaughan 70 70
141 Darren Fichardt 68 73, Henk Alberts 69 72, Dion Fourie 71 70
142 Albert Pistorius 71 71
143 Neil Schietekat 72 71, Tyrone Mordt 72 71
144 Justin Walters (Eng) 74 70, TC Charamba (Zim) 71 73, Desvonde Botes 70 74
145 Shaun Norris 74 71, Louis Moolman 74 71, Martin Maritz 73 72, Ryan Tipping 74 71
146 Merrick Bremner 78 68, Brett Liddle 74 72
147 Vaughn Groenewald 73 74, Alex Haindl 77 70
149 Oliver Bekker 72 77, Josh Cunliffe 75 74, Omar Sandys 79 70
151 Jeff Inglis (Eng) 73 78
152 Jake Roos 81 71
153 David Hewan 78 75, Divan van den Heever 71 82
155 Ross Wellington 78 77
Retired: Jaco Van Zyl 75, Mark Murless 78, Brandon Pieters, Trevor Fisher jun 77.