Asian quartet seal Open places

29 May 2016 01:23

Kodai Ichihara, Shugo Imahira, Sang-hee Lee and Hideto Tanihara have qualified for the Open Championship after Sunday's final round of the Mizuno Open, the fourth event in the Open Qualifying Series.

Ichihara, Imahira and Lee finished tied for second on 10 under par, a shot behind winner KT Kim of South Korea, who had already earned his place at Royal Troon by leading the Japan Golf Tour money list in 2015.

Ichihara celebrated his 34th birthday by securing a second start in the Open, having previously missed the cut at Royal Lytham in 2012. Imahira and Lee will both make their debuts at Troon.

After finishing in a four-way tie for fifth place with New Zealand's Michael Hendry and Japanese compatriots Naoto Takayanagi and Satoshi Kodaira, who had already secured his place in the Open, Tanihara secured his place by virtue of his higher position in the world rankings.

Source: PA