Danny Lee wins Greenbrier Classic... Greg 

Owen also earns place in Open at St Andrews

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE R AND A

Danny Lee, David Hearn, James Hahn and Greg Owen qualified for the 144^TH Open at St Andrews today at the Greenbrier Classic at The Old White TPC. White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

Lee earned his first victory on the US PGA Tour following a two-hole play-off with Hearn after the pair finished tied on 13-under-par alongside Americans Robert Streb and Kevin Kisner, who were both already exempt for The Open and bowed out after the first play-off hole.

New Zealander Lee carded a three-under-par 67 to close out the tournament and is set to make his first appearance in golf’s oldest championship when it is played from 16-19 July. 

The 24-year-old is a former US Amateur champion and was the recipient of the Mark H McCormack medal as the top player in the WORLD AMATEUR GOLF RANKING™ in 2008.

Canadian Hearn will make his second consecutive start in The Open after gaining entry as a reserve at Royal Liverpool in 2014 where he finished tied 32^nd. The 36-year-old from Ontario mixed five birdies with two bogeys to close with a three-under-par 67 and secure his place at St Andrews.  

His result matches his best career finish on the US PGA Tour after he lost in a play-off to Jordan Spieth at the 2013 John Deere Classic.

Hahn and Owen finished two-shots further back on 11-under-par to share sixth place with David Lingmerth and Brendon Todd, who have already earned exemptions into The Open, as well as Andres Romero, Chad Collins, and Bryce Molder. Hahn and Owen secured the places by virtue of their higher positions in the Official World Golf Ranking. Russell Henley, who has also already earned a place at St Andrews, finished alone in fifth on 12-under-par.

American Hahn, who hails from California, turned in a four-under-par 66 early in the day that was enough to secure him a place in The Open.

 The 33-year-old earned his maiden PGA TOUR victory at the Northern Trust Open in February in a play-off over Dustin Johnson and Paul Casey. He played in the US Open in 2012 and the Masters Tournament in 2015 and will make his first appearance at The Open in less than two weeks’ time.

Owen, from Mansfield, England, posted a three-under-par 67 on Sunday and is set to make his seventh start in The Open. The 43-year-old has one win each on the European, Challenge and Web.com Tours and had his best result at The Open in 2006 at Royal Liverpool where he finished tied 22^nd.

Key quotes:

Danny Lee

“This means a lot, it’s the home of golf. I’ve never been to St Andrews, I’ve only ever seen it on television when I have been cheering for Tiger Woods winning. It’s going to be amazing and it’s going to be so much fun.

“I’m just very excited to play in another Major and have another opportunity to go out there and play and try my best. I’m very lucky that it’s being played at St Andrews because I’ve always wanted to play there.”

David Hearn

“It’s really special, I had a chance to get over to The Open Championship last year and I’m excited to get back this year especially with it being at the home of golf. Going into these two weeks that has been my primary goal to get into St Andrews and that mission was accomplished.

“This week is a huge confidence boost for me. I enjoy playing different types of golf courses and having to hit creative shots, so getting over to St Andrews will be an amazing treat for me.  I’m going to enjoy every minute of it. I just can’t wait to get over there.”

 James Hahn

“To play another Major Championship would be great, and The Open is one of the best events we have all year so it will be incredible. Especially to have the chance to play at St Andrews where the game of golf originated.

“I’ve never played St Andrews before, I’ve only seen it on TV. It’s definitely pretty surreal at the moment. It’s one of those golf courses that everyone knows and everyone recognises the holes. It will be really fun to go out there and play that Championship. “

Greg Owen (pictured right)
“Obviously being British it’s a huge honour to play in The Open.  I think at this point I’ve qualified through every way possible now. I’m very much looking forward to playing.

“I’ve played well at St Andrews in the Dunhill and I made my first cut in The Open there in 2000 so I’m very excited to get back. I’ve not played it since the new tees have been put in so I’ve got some work to do, but I’m very much looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s the history that sets St Andrews apart. It’s the home of golf, you know the holes inside and out, and everyone knows about 17 and 18. Everyone can relate to it and picture where you need to hit the ball.”

The Open Qualifying Series continues  with the John Deere Classic on the US PGA Tour and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open on the European Tour.

GREENBRIER CLASSIC FINAL TOTALS
par 280 (4x70)
Danny Lee won play-off

1	x-Danny Lee	63	69	68	67				267	$1,206,000
T2	David Hearn	68	64	68	67				267	$500,267
T2	Kevin Kisner	67	69	67	64				267	$500,267
T2	Robert Streb	68	67	67	65				267	$500,267
5	Russell Henley	70	66	69	63				268	$268,000
T6	Chad Collins	65	67	68	69				269	$195,736
T6	James Hahn	66	67	70	66				269	$195,736
T6	David Lingmerth	67	70	64	68				269	$195,736
T6	Bryce Molder	68	64	67	70				269	$195,736
T6	Greg Owen	65	67	70	67				269	$195,736
T6	Andres Romero	67	67	68	67				269	$195,736
T6	Brendon Todd	65	69	67	68				269	$195,736
T13	Jason Bohn	69	69	61	71				270	$107,944
T13	Steven Bowditch	68	68	67	67				270	$107,944
T13	Tony Finau	68	67	68	67				270	$107,944
T13	J.J. Henry	68	66	69	67				270	$107,944
T13	Morgan Hoffmann	68	67	69	66				270	$107,944
T13	Scott Langley	62	69	74	65				270	$107,944
T13	Sean O'Hair	66	67	66	71				270	$107,944
T13	Shawn Stefani	69	67	67	67				270	$107,944
T13	Bubba Watson	67	68	68	67				270	$107,944
T22	Ryan Armour	69	69	68	65				271	$60,396
T22	Jonathan Byrd	63	69	69	70				271	$60,396
T22	Derek Ernst	67	71	68	65				271	$60,396
T22	J.B. Holmes	67	69	69	66				271	$60,396
T22	George McNeill	67	68	68	68				271	$60,396
T22	Pat Perez	67	68	68	68				271	$60,396
T22	Chez Reavie	68	70	67	66				271	$60,396
T29	Keegan Bradley	68	69	71	64				272	$45,560
T29	Scott Piercy	67	66	71	68				272	$45,560
T29	Patrick Reed	68	68	67	69				272	$45,560
T32	Eric Axley	68	67	70	68				273	$37,922
T32	Brice Garnett	69	68	67	69				273	$37,922
T32	Kevin Na	65	70	71	67				273	$37,922
T32	Johnson Wagner	69	68	67	69				273	$37,922
T32	Tiger Woods	66	69	71	67				273	$37,922
T37	Scott Brown	67	69	67	71				274	$22,851
T37	Chad Campbell	66	72	68	68				274	$22,851
T37	Paul Casey	66	71	71	66				274	$22,851
T37	Kevin Chappell	65	67	72	70				274	$22,851
T37	Brian Davis	64	70	73	67				274	$22,851
T37	Graham DeLaet	68	70	67	69				274	$22,851
T37	Gonzalo Fernandez-Casta	67	70	66	71				274	$22,851
T37	Robert Garrigus	66	67	71	70				274	$22,851
T37	Andres Gonzales	68	66	72	68				274	$22,851
T37	Luke Guthrie	67	70	67	70				274	$22,851
T37	Tom Hoge	68	66	69	71				274	$22,851
T37	Billy Hurley III	67	71	69	67				274	$22,851
T37	Justin Leonard	66	68	70	70				274	$22,851
T37	Seung-yul Noh	69	65	68	72				274	$22,851
T37	Sung Joon Park	68	65	66	75				274	$22,851
T37	Chris Stroud	66	69	70	69				274	$22,851
T37	Jhonattan Vegas	66	65	76	67				274	$22,851
T54	Sang-Moon Bae	68	67	71	69				275	$15,209
T54	Mark Hubbard	70	65	71	69				275	$15,209
T54	John Huh	66	71	72	66				275	$15,209
T54	Jason Kokrak	69	69	68	69				275	$15,209
T54	Davis Love III	68	69	69	69				275	$15,209
T54	Justin Thomas	67	67	66	75				275	$15,209
T60	Alex Cejka	68	70	71	67				276	$14,405
T60	Maverick McNealy	67	68	68	73				276	-
T60	Cameron Percy	68	66	69	73				276	$14,405
T60	Michael Putnam	73	65	69	69				276	$14,405
T60	Patrick Rodgers	68	65	69	74				276	$14,405
T60	Byron Smith	66	71	69	70				276	$14,405
T60	Brendon de Jonge	70	66	70	70				276	$14,405
T67	Ricky Barnes	72	66	71	68				277	$13,601
T67	Martin Flores	67	69	74	67				277	$13,601
T67	Whee Kim	69	69	68	71				277	$13,601
T67	Kyle Reifers	69	69	68	71				277	$13,601
T67	Scott Stallings	69	68	69	71				277	$13,601
T67	Hudson Swafford	70	68	69	70				277	$13,601
T73	Bill Lunde	70	66	73	69				278	$13,065
T73	Louis Oosthuizen	70	68	73	67				278	$13,065
75	Derek Fathauer	68	70	70	71				279	$12,864
76	Ryo Ishikawa	64	71	75	70				280	$12,730
T77	Kevin Streelman	67	70	71	73				281	$12,596
T77	Will MacKenzie	70	68	73	WD				211