Richard Finch came off back to back bogies at the 16th and 17th to make the greatest four of his life at the 473-yard last, for it booked his place in the final 36 holes of the Open Championship.
Those dropped shots, following 13 regulation figures, might have shredded the nerves of some but not the blond giant from Hull. With the cut-off figure at nine over par, Finch, having dropped to eight over, said: "My caddie Damien Moore confirmed tha
t we would have a shot in hand with a four. I hit a good three-wood and a solid six-iron, leaving a putt of 35 feet.
"I was fooled by the pace and left it six feet short but then made a tester from six feet – and the feeling on making the cut in my first Open was marvellous."
The former Yorkshire and English amateur champion posted a 73 to add to his opening 75 and confessed he would have taken two rounds under 80 had they been offered in view of the weather that has hit the Lancashire coast.
"To do it pleased a lot of supporters who are here. They kept calling out: 'Come on the Tigers' (Finch's favourite football club Hull City) but I tried not making eye contact with them as I needed to focus everything on my shots.
The winner of the New Zealand and Irish Opens this season, added: "Realistically, I'm not going to win the Open but I'll enjoy the experience and give it my best shot."
The forecast gales never materialised yesterday and conditions were benign compared with Thursday.
Finch's fellow Yorkshireman Simon Dyson, destroyed by a first round 82 made during the worst of the weather, yesterday shot a lovely 70 with his first birdies of the championship coming at the last two holes.
But it was not enough to save the York man who missed the cut on 12 over par.
The full article contains 332 words and appears in EP Leeds First & County newspaper.
