Simon Khan beaten in Walton Heath play-off

for US Open place

WALTON HEATH-- Simon Khan, European golf's man of the moment, kept a smile on his face all day at Walton Heath today -- even when he was the one to lose out in a six-man playoff for five spots in next month's United States Open at Pebble Beach, California.

ENGLAND QUALIFIERS
FOR US OPEN
1. James Morrison 68-65-133
2. Rafa Echenique 69-66-135
T3. Gary Boyd 67-69-136
T3. Rhys Davies 66-70-136
T3. Rafael Cabrero-Bello 70-66-136
T3. Gareth Maybin 71-65-136
T7. Mikko Ilonen 68-69-137
T7. Jean-Francois Luquin 70-67-137
T7. Gregory Havret 68-69-137
T7. Rikard Kalberg 68-69-137
T7. Pablo Martin 68-69-137

Long after European Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie had missed out by three shots in the one-day, 36-hole European qualifier, brand-new BMW PGA Championship winner Khan was looking like he would make it through to Pebble Beach -- until Sweden's Rikard Karlberg, playing in the day's final group, birdied the 35th hole to force the big play-off.
That meant more work and Khan, understandably exhausted by then after getting "hardly any sleep," was the only one of the six play-off participants not to birdie the first hole of sudden death.
"Unbelievable. I thought one of them would miss," he said after seeing Karlberg make a 25-footer and then Frenchmen pair Gregory Havret and Jean-Francois Lucquin hole from 15 and 14 feet, respectively.
Already through in the European playoff were Spaniard Pablo Martin and Finland's Mikko Ilonen, while the qualifier was earlier won by England's James Morrison by two strokes over Argentina's Rafa Echenique and by three over Welshman Rhys Davies, Ireland's Gareth Maybin, England's Gary Boyd and Spain's Rafael Cabrera-Bello.
Khan might still earn a place in the U.S. Open as the first alternate from Walton Heath. But having changed his life by winning the European Tour's flagship event on Sunday, there will be no tears if that does not happen.
He had earlier shot rounds of 67 and 70 for a 7-under-par total after showing real professionalism by getting up at 6 a.m. the morning after the memorable night before.
"I had a few legless shots this afternoon," he said, referring to fatigue rather than a hangover. "Swing-wise I'm delighted with how I played, but I couldn't focus on the greens."
After his efforts of the day and the past week, he has now decided to skip this week's Madrid Masters and will return to action a week on Thursday in the Wales Open at Celtic Manor. He won that title in 2004.
Montgomerie blamed poor putting for failing in his bid to qualify for a trip to the course on which he finished third on his debut in 1992. He missed out on the play-off by three shots.
"It's very disappointing. I had an opportunity to get to 8 under easy, but missed too many putts as usual," he said. "Same old story for six years. I'll try again at Sunningdale."
That was a reference to the Open at St Andrews qualifier in two weeks' time, when he will be trying to earn a return to the Old Course, scene of his runner-up finish to Tiger Woods five years ago.
Ryder Cup star Darren Clarke also failed to qualify for Pebble Beavh, and so did 17-year-old Italian Matteo Manassero, who as an amateur came in 13th in the Open at Turnberry last July and 36th in the Masters last month. The youngster, who played with a Walton Heath member when his scheduled partner Chris Wood failed to show and was disqualified, finished on 5 under, but Clarke was way down the field on 2 over.
Like Khan, the 40-year-old Ulsterman has pulled out of this week's Madrid Masters and said: "I'm flogging a bit of a dead horse and need a break. I'm just not enjoying it -- I'm trying hard, but it ain't happening."
Wood, the 54-hole leader at Wentworth who then crashed to a 77, will avoid a fine after management spokesman Ian Garbutt said that messages about his withdrawal had been left with the U.S. Golf Association and the European Tour.
"He's just exhausted," said Garbutt. "Chris has been in contention the last three weeks and last week was a big week."
US OPEN QUALIFYING SCOREBOARD AT WALTON HEATH
Q-James Morrison England 68-65-133
Q-Rafa Echenique Argentina 69-66-135
Q-Rhys Davies Wales 66-70-136
Q-Rafael Cabrera-Bello ESP 70-66-136
Q-Gareth Maybin NIR 71-65-136
Q-Gary Boyd England 67-69-136
Q-Rikard Karlberg Sweden 70-67-137
Q-Jean-Francois Lucquin France 70-67-137
Q-Gregory Havret France 68-69-137
Q-Pablo Martin ESP 68-69-137
Q-Mikko Ilonen Finland 68-69-137
Failed To Qualify
Simon Khan England 67-70-137
François Delamontagne France 70-68-138
Lee Slattery England 68-70-138
Richard Green Australia 68-70-138
Gregory Bourdy France 69-69-138
Richie Ramsay Scotland 67-71-138
Markus Brier Australia 70-69-139
Matteo Manassero Italy 70-69-139
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano Spain 69-70-139
Danny Willett England 73-66-139
Peter Hedblom Sweden 69-71-140
Colin Montgomerie Scotland 70-70-140
Julien Quesne France 67-73-140
Michael Jonzon Sweden 71-69-140
Shane Lowry Ireland 71-69-140
Niclas Fasth Sweden 65-75-140
David Howell England 68-72-140
Nick Dougherty England 70-70-140
Phillip Archer England 69-71-140
David Horsey England 73-67-140
Thomas Levet France 69-71-140
Brett Rumford Australia 70-71-141
Graeme Storm England 70-71-141
Daniel Vancsik Argentina 70-71-141
John Parry England 66-75-141
Ricardo Gonzalez Argentina 70-71-141
Richard Finch England 69-72-141
Pablo Larrazabal Spain 70-72-142
David Drysdale Scotland 71-71-142
Oliver Fisher England 72-70-142
Thomas Aiken RSA 68-74-142
Maarten Lafeber Netherlands 73-69-142
Richard Bland England 71-71-142
Marcus Fraser Australia 71-71-142
Nicolas Colsaerts Belgium 70-72-142
Thomas Bjorn Denmark 68-74-142
(a) Tommy Fleetwood England 72-70-142
Steve Webster England 74-69-143
Jeppe Huldahl Denmark 68-75-143
Raphael Jacquelin France 69-74-143
(a) Chris Paisley England 71-72-143
Christian Cevaer France 70-74-144
Andrew Dodt Australia 72-72-144
Johan Edfors Sweden 69-75-144
Andrew McArthur Scotland 74-70-144