APAlso getting in from the Memphis site were former PGA champion Steve Elkington and Paul Goydos, who won the Sony Open earlier this year for his first PGA Tour victory in 11 years. Among those who failed to advance was John Daly, who shot 73 and withdrew.
Justin Leonard, the 1997 British Open champion, Hunter Mahan and Ryan Palmer earned the three spots available in the qualifying at the Northwood Club, near Dallas.
PGA Tour regular Kevin Sutherland was the medalist at Bear Creek Club in Murietta, Calif., and his morning round of 7-under 65 featured a hole-in-one with a 6-iron on the 186-yard 8th hole. Richard Lee, a 16-year-old amateur from Chandler, Ariz., and Andrew Buckle finished at 140, three strokes behind Sutherland. Michael Block won a four-man playoff for the final spot.
Fred Funk, who won a Champions Tour event in Hawaii earlier this year but is not done with the regular tour, showed he still has game by earning one of the five spots at Woodmont Country Club in Maryland. Rhys Davies of Wales was the medalist at 137, followed by Joey Sindelar, another guy who will be eligible for the Champions Tour next year.
Clarke did not earn one of the nine spots available at Walton Heath for primarily European Tour members. Clarke, who lost his wife to cancer last August a month before he led Europe to victory in the Ryder Cup, missed by eight shots after rounds of 75-72. It was the first time in 10 years he failed to qualify for a major.
“The current state of my game is not good enough for the U.S. Open anyway, so it is maybe not such a bad thing,” he said. “I’m working hard, but it’s not happening for me at the moment.”
The leading qualifiers in Europe were Nick Dougherty, Peter Hanson and Darren Fichardt.
In other qualifiers Monday:
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