Ewen Ferguson was crying with joy on the 18th green of Golfclub München Eichenried. So much pent-up emotion. His victory at the BMW International Open after two months of dealing with serious vertigo issues was a great relief for the Scotsman.
His tears had a second reason. His triumph has given him qualification to the British Open which is held precisely in his home country, Scotland. Ewen Ferguson will play the second Major of his career at Royal Troon.
The five best classified in the Race to Dubai who, at the end of the tournament in Munich, were not already classified by other means, qualified for the last Major of the season. Ferguson has slipped in through the window and with his triumph has entered fifth place. That is, the last available place has been for Ewen. Jesper Svensson, Laurie Canter, Nacho Elvira and Matteo Manassero are the other four lucky ones.
The bitter face has been left by Adrián Otaegui. The Spaniard has been the player surpassed by the Scotsman. Just six points difference. Ferguson currently scores 917.10 compared to the Spaniard’s 910.64. The Basque would have been worth just making the cut. The last two classified, Grant Forrest and Jeong Weon Ko, have scored 7.5 points. A pity.
However, not all is bad news. Otaegui has one more bullet in the chamber. The Genesis Scottish Open grants three more tickets for the best players of the tournament who make the cut and who are not yet classified.
At this moment there are three players from the Armada who are precisely opting for these places: the aforementioned Otaegui, Pablo Larrazábal and Adri Arnaus. A good result at The Renaissance Club would give them access to the last Major of the season. Santi Tarrio and Alex del Rey are the first two reserves in Scotland, any last-minute drop out puts them in the tournament and, therefore, in the fight for those Open tickets.
At the moment, there are seven Spaniards classified to Royal Troon, but the prospects of adding some more are by no means dismissible. Considering the field that the tournament co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour has, it would not be surprising if some player who finishes beyond the top ten ends up qualifying for the Open. We will have the answer in just a week.
