Colin MontgomerieSam Greenwood
WALTON HEATH, England - Briton Richie Ramsay missed a playoff to decide a U.S. Open berth when he left Monday's international qualifying event early to try to attend a friend's wedding reception.
Ramsay didn't think his score of 4-under would be enough to qualify on Monday, so he tried to catch a flight to Belfast to attend the wedding reception of fellow professional Gareth Maybin. He missed his flight, then was told to rush back to the golf course for a playoff among three players competing for the final spot.
Ramsay went back to the Walton Heath course on the outskirts of London but missed out by a matter of minutes on the playoff which was won by Johan Edfors at around 9:30 pm in near darkness when the Swede beat Denmark's Andreas Harto at the first extra hole.
"I can't believe they played when it was pitch dark," Ramsay told Sky Sports. "As I left at 5.30 guys were teeing off the first hole, but they made the decision and I can't do anything about it."
Ramsay believed that with a two hour delay earlier in the day due to rain and fog, officials would opt to stage the playoff on Tuesday. But as the final group finished up, officials took the opportunity to try and get in at least one extra hole, switching it from a par-4 to a par-3 to further try and speed things up.
"It's not up to me to say it's right or wrong, but it's just been an horrific day - just an awful, awful day."
Of little consolation to Ramsay is the fact that he will be a second alternate for the June tournament.
Former Ryder Cup player Thomas Levet of France and China Open champion Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium were also among the 11 qualifiers for the U.S. Open.
Joining them at the June 16-19 event at Congressional will be Ireland's Shane Lowry, Dutchman Maarten Lafeber, British quartet Robert Rock, Stephen Gallacher, Robert Dinwiddie and David Howell, Swede Alexander Noren and German Marcel Siem.
Eight-times European number one and 2010 Ryder Cup-winning captain Colin Montgomerie and former World Match Play champion Ross Fisher failed to qualify.
"It was hard work out there. It was miserable, miserable, miserable," said Montgomerie, who missed qualifying for golf's second oldest major for the second straight year.