Goosen punches ticket to St. Andrews

Little Brickhill - Two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen birdied the first playoff hole of a qualifying tournament at Woburn Golf Club on Tuesday to secure a spot at next month's British Open.

The 46-year-old South African shot rounds of 67 and 72 to get into a three-man playoff for the final spot.

Irish amateur Paul Dunne shot the lowest score at Woburn after rounds of 70-65 gave him a three-stroke victory with Robert Dinwiddie of England also qualifying for the tournament at St. Andrews.

"I won two Dunhill Cups there as well (with Ernie Els and David Frostin 1997 and 1998) and first played it when I was 18, so I've walked a good few miles on that course and I love it," Goosen told reporters looking ahead to the July 16-19 major.

Colin Montgomerie, who recently played in the US Open and was runner-up at the US Senior Open, missed out on the Woburn playoff by four shots.