SUNNINGDALE, England - Colin Montgomerie survived a 12-man playoff Monday to earn a trip to his home course at Royal Troon, and Luke Donald of England was among 15 who qualified for the British Open from a surprisingly short field at Congressional.
It was the first time the Open had qualifying around the world in an effort to give more players a chance to play the sport's oldest championship.
Montgomerie was among a dozen competing for six spots in a sudden-death playoff, and he got in after the second hole. It was a rare bright spot for the former world No. 2, who is going through a divorce and has slipped out of the top 50 in the world rankings for the first time in more than a decade.
"It's the first decent thing that has happened to me for a while," said Montgomerie, who earned one of 17 spots available in the European qualifier.
Among those who failed to qualify were former Masters champions Bernhard Langer, Jose Maria Olazabal and Ian Woosnam.
Donald, who plays the PGA Tour regularly, gave his fledgling Ryder Cup hopes a boost by qualifying at the Congressional in Bethesda, Md.
The PGA Tour qualifier had 120 players, but only 68 attended. Royal & Ancient officials will investigate why there were so many no-shows. Those players could be banned from playing next year.
Mathias Gronberg holed a bunker shot for eagle on No. 10, sending him to 31 on the back nine to share medalist honors with Carl Petterson and Spike McRoy at 9-under 134. Jeff Maggert, coming off a third-place finish at the U.S. Open and 10th in the Ryder Cup standings, and former PGA champion Mark Brooks withdrew when it was clear they would not qualify.
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Two-time major champion David Graham, 58, remained hospitalized after he became ill Sunday during the final round of the Bank of America Championship in Concord, Mass. "He is progressing well," Graham's wife, Maureen, said. She declined to give details of her husband's illness.
SKINS EVENT: Phil Mickelson and Fred Couples each won $30,000 for being closest to the pin three times, but no hole money was earned in the first round of the Par 3 Shootout in Gaylord, Mich. All the hole skins money - $20,000 each hole for $180,000 total - carries over to the final nine holes today, making the 10th hole of the event worth $200,000.
CHARITY EVENT: The father-and-son team of Jay and Bill Haas eagled the eighth hole and shot 11-under 60 in best-ball play to share the lead halfway through the Charity Classic in Barrington, R.I. Co-leaders David Toms and Chad Campbell made nine consecutive birdies. The Haas tandem played together for the first time since Bill, a two-time All-American, turned pro this month.
