No final-hole disaster this time as Van de Velde grabs Birkdale spot

SOUTHPORT, England (PA) -- Jean Van de Velde will be back in the Open Championship next week, thanks to a last-hole birdie on Tuesday and the help of the crowd he had criticized 24 hours earlier. While playing partner Danny Willett, the former amateur world No. 1, missed out after a closing double-bogey 6, Van de Velde survived the 36-hole final qualifying at Hillside by the skin of his teeth with a 1-under-par total of 143. The 42-year-old, forever to be remembered for his last-hole triple-bogey 7 at Carnoustie in 1999, pitched to within 18 inches of the flag on the 439-yard 18th. But that would have been of no use if his ball had not been found in dense rough right of the 17th fairway. "I might have taken 8 on the hole, but managed to par it," said Van de Velde, who had asked for better control of the spectators after his... [read full story]