Long trek starts for leading qualifiers in quest for Open place

PAUL Shields and Scott Henderson shared top spot in yesterday's Open regional qualifier in Edinburgh then prepared to head off to opposite ends of Britain before tackling the next step in the bid to secure spots in the world's oldest major in Kent.

On a perfect day for scoring at Bruntsfield Links - the Davidson's Mains course was also in perfect shape as it staged the Scottish qualifier for the first time - the duo carded four-under-par 67s in securing two of only nine spots up for grabs in next week's local final qualifying.

It was a case of first-time lucky for Shields, a member of the SGU elite squad, but former European Tour rookie of the year Henderson is an old hand when it comes to the scramble for Open places, having played in the season's third major three times, most recently in 2002 at Muirfield.

After failing to qualify for the match-play phase in last week's Amateur Championship, Shields, a two-time beaten finalist in the Scottish Boys' Championship, decided to pull out of the Tennant Cup at the weekend. "I wanted to be fresh for this and also the Brazbazon Trophy," said the Kirkhill 20-year-old. That involves a trip down to Somerset today - the latest big event on the amateur calendar is being played at Burnham & Berrow - and Shields admitted the journey he'll then face early next week from there to the Sandwich area was a "nice problem to have".

For Henderson, it will be an even longer trek from either his home in Aberdeen or Aviemore, where he's gained an invite for this week's Scottish Hydro Challenge at Macdonald Spey Valley.

In last year's regional qualifying, he came through a play-off at Musselburgh. This time he breezed through thanks to a grandstand finish. "I birdied four of the last five holes, which is the opposite way to how most of my rounds have been recently," said the Kings Links man.

Cawder's Chris Kelly, who had girlfriend Heather MacRae caddying, made it through on 69 alongside fellow pros Malcolm Isaacs (Nairn Dunbar) and Lee Harper (Archerfield Links) as well as last year's East of Scotland Open winner Peter Latimer (St Andrews New) and left-hander Malcolm Campbell from Swanston New.

Isaacs, who closed with a 64 to finish in a tie for fifth in last week's Paul Lawrie Invitational at Deeside, started with a double-bogey after his second clipped a tree and ricocheted out of bounds but recovered with five birdies.

To the delight of the sizeable gallery, the final two spots were decided by a play-off, which saw James Ross (Royal Burgess) and Gordon Stevenson (Whitecraigs) triumph in an all-amateur showdown that also involved Australian Scott McJannet and Fraserburgh's Jordan Findlay, who blew his chances by racing a 15-foot putt almost the same distance past at the first extra hole.

In one of the 15 other regional qualifiers, Clydebank & District's John Henry, the younger brother of recent Alps Tour winner Scott, claimed top spot at Goswick with a 69.