Teater leads eight players into British Open via 36-hole American qualifier

PLANO, Texas -- Josh Teater shot a 7-under-par total of 133 on Monday to win the American edition of International Final Qualifying, and will lead eight players out of a field of 78 into the British Open in July. 

The other players to qualify via the one-day, 36-hole qualifying tournament on the 6905-yard, par-70 Queens Course at Gleneagles Country Club are Johnson Wagner, Camilo Villegas, Scott Brown, Brian Davis, Bud Cauley, Luke Guthrie and Robert Karlsson. The British Open is set for July 18-21 at Muirfield Golf Club in Scotland.

Teater, who has never competed in a major championship, has 107 starts on the PGA Tour.

“I am really looking forward to playing in my first Open Championship,” he said. “You always want to get off to a quick start in these qualifiers, but I went out and bogeyed my first hole of the day. I think that may have been good for me because I was able to refocus.”

The players battled tough conditions all day with winds gusting up to 35 mph.

Wagner and Villegas each shot a 6-under-par 134 to finish tied for second.

Wagner, who has three wins on the PGA Tour, missed the cut last year at Royal Lytham & St Annes. Villegas, who did not compete in a major in 2012, will be making his fifth Open start and 22nd overall start in a major. 

Brown and England’s Davis tied for fourth at 5-under 135.

Davis shot rounds of 66-69 to qualify for his ninth Open, where his best finish is a tie for sixth in 2003.

Brown, who turns 30 on Wednesday, made a pair of eagles in his second round Monday afternoon by holing out on the par-4 fifth hole and then sinking a 20-foot putt on the par-5 10th hole.

“I’m usually not good at qualifiers to be honest,” said Brown, who picked up his first PGA Tour win this year at the Puerto Rico Open. “I am really excited to earn a spot in my first major. I played the World Junior Cup at St. Andrews years ago so I have some experience playing in Scotland.”

Guthrie, Cauley and Sweden’s Karlsson were the last three qualifiers after advancing via a playoff. All three made par on the first playoff hole, the par-3 17th hole, while Andres Echvarria of Colombia failed to advance out of the playoff after making a bogey-4.

Guthrie and Cauley will make their Open debuts while Karlsson is looking to make his 16th Open start. 

Davis Love III, who has played in 26 consecutive Opens dating back to 1987, shot a 2-over 142 and failed to qualify. 

This is the 10th time the Open qualifying tournament has been held in the United States and fifth straight time in Texas. 

International Final Qualifying (IFQ) events were introduced in 2004 and are held on five continents to give more players from around the world the chance to gain direct entry into the British Open. The Australian, Asian and African events have already been held, and the remaining IFQ event is set for June 24 at Sunningdale Golf Club in Sunningdale, England.