McDowell wins qualifying exemption for US Open and Open

IRVING, Texas -- Ulsterman Graeme McDowell is among 14 players who don't have to worry about qualifying for the United States Open.
McDowell tied for 28th in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth on Sunday, then had to wait some eight hours Sunday until the HP Byron Nelson Championship ended in Texas to make sure he stayed among the top 50 in the world ranking.
McDowell is No. 49, making him exempt from qualifying for the US Open and the Open at St Andrews.
Sunday's two winners on either side of the Atlantic will still have to qualify Monday to play in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach next month. England's Simon Khan, who rallied to win on the European Tour, moved up to No. 7 on the money list, but only the top five are exempt. Europeans will go through 36-hole qualifying Monday at Walton Heath.
Australian Jason Day, the winner of the Byron Nelson, only moved up to No. 79 in the world ranking. He will try to qualify in two weeks.
This was the final week to earn an exemption to the U.S. Open by getting into top 50 in the world ranking, top 10 on the PGA Tour money list or top five on the European Tour money list. No one moved into those categories who was not already there.
Other exemptions went to Australia's Robert Allenby and Adam Scott, Camilo Villegas of Colombia, Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa, Sweden's Robert Karlsson and Peter Hanson, Spaniards Alvaro Quiros and Miguel Angel Jimenez, K.J. Choi of South Korea, Edoardo Molinari of Italy, American Ben Crane and Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee.
That means 77 players in the 156-man field are exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Open.