Pumped up Peter earns place in US

Open with 206yd hole in one

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Swede Peter Hanson secured a place in next month's US Open with a spectacular play-off hole-in-one after making a late change about which club to hit.
Hanson was left battling with Scot Stephen Gallacher and England's Richard Bland for the last of the 11 spots up for grabs in the 36-hole European qualifier at Walton Heath Golf Club, Surrey today.
The 17th hole on the Old Course measures 206 yards and Hanson said: "I was pumped up so switched from a five iron to a six and knew I had to hit it really well to land it on the front of the green. It was just a perfect shot."
The seventh ace of his career came just two weeks after his sixth during the Irish Open at County Louth.
The play-off on five under par had started with seven players competing for five places and Italian Francesco Molinari, France's Jean-Francois Lucquin and Hanson's fellow countryman Johan Edfors went through with birdie threes on the first hole of sudden-death.
Molinari thought his chance of playing at Bethpage Black next month might have gone when he was disqualified from the Irish Open after taking the first round lead.
He was hoping to climb into the world's top 50 and earn a spot that way, but was disqualified for signing for a wrong score on a card marked incorrectly by playing partner Hanson.
First place in the qualifier was shared by England's Simon Khan and Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin on nine under.
Simon Dyson was third one behind and said of the challenge that now awaits him: "I just hope it's not as hard as Pinehurst was four years ago.
"That was too hard, the most difficult course I've ever played. You were hitting four-irons into greens that were designed for wedges.
"You could be stood in the middle of a fairway with like a six iron in your hands thinking 'How do I hit this on the green?'
"I didn't play that great to be fair, but I've never seen anything like it." Dyson shot 79, 78 to miss the cut by nine shots.
With Colin Montgomerie among those to withdraw before the start today, four Ryder Cup stars were in the field, but while Paul McGinley, David Howell and Niclas Fasth missed out, recent Spanish Open winner Thomas Levet made it through on seven under.
Joint fifth, meanwhile, were South African Andrew McLardy and another Tour rookie, last year's Challenge Tour No 1, David Horsey, the 24-year-old who led the BMW PGA Championship after the opening round last Thursday.