JOHN PARRY LEADS IN US OPEN QUALIFIER AT WALTON HEATH

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Englishman John Parry set the early pace in the US Open qualifier at Walton Heath, carding a six under par 66 over on the New Course today to lead by one stroke at the halfway stage, while Simon Khan put his BMW PGA Championship play-off defeat behind him.
Englishman Khan opened with an impressive 67 on the Old Course, the day after losing on the fourth extra hole to Italian Matteo Manassero at Wentworth Club, as he tries to seal one of the 12 spots available in next month’s US Open Championship.
But it was Parry who heads the 94 hopefuls battling it out over 36 holes as he looks to secure a spot in his first US Open at Merion Golf Club, Pennsylvania.
“It was a pretty solid round,” said Parry. I was never in any trouble and I held a few putts. From the outside it probably didn’t look spectacular, but I kept plodding along.
“I was three under through nine and I held a few putts coming in from eight to ten feet and that’s the difference between going home now and having a good chance of going through.
“So I feel like I have a decent chance now. I was first reserve for Wentworth last week so I came down here and had a practice round on Thursday and another on Sunday so my preparation is probably better than many of the guys who played last week and who are tired. Being first out helped too.”
Sweden’s Peter Hedblom, Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger and Spain’s Pablo Larrazábal all carded rounds of 67 on the New Course, with former Ryder Cup player David Howell and 2012 European Ryder Cup captain José María Olazábal a shot further back after rounds of 68.
Olazábal said: “I’m pleased even though I made a lot of mistakes. It was a rollercoaster round with lots of birdies but three bogeys and a double. It was not boring, let’s put it that way.
“I think I’m going to need to shoot a similar score to get through. I would mean everything to get to the US Open. I missed last year and I’ve given myself the best possible chance.”
Meanwhile, Khan showed no obvious signs of fatigue following his draining play-off defeat to Manassero at Wentworth yesterday as he posted a 67, the joint best score of the morning starters on the trickier Old Course alongside Dane Morten Ørum Madsen, the last man on the course.
He said: “I felt quite tired this morning so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I started well. To get through the first six holes level was good and I had some chances on the back nine.
“I felt good all last week and played really well, even though it didn’t quite happen, so hopefully I can carry it on.”
Scotland’s Marc Warren, who bowed out at the first hole of the play-off in the BMW PGA Championship, also put that disappointment behind him with a solid 71 on the New Course.
“It was tricky this morning with the wind and getting used to the new greens after last week, and I struggled a little to adapt,” he said. “So I’m really pleased to come in under par. Last week was a really positive week and I felt I couldn’t do much more. Matteo played better in the play-off, so I will only take positives from the week.
“I qualified from this event last year and had a taste of the US Open so it would be great to go back.”

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