VAN DE VELDE IS BACK!

Jean Van de Velde will make a welcome return to the Open next week, thanks to a last-gasp birdie today (Tuesaday) and the help of the crowd he had criticised just 24 hours earlier.

While playing partner Danny Willett, the former amateur world number one, missed out after a closing double-bogey six, Van de Velde survived the 36-hole final qualifying at Hillside by the skin of his teeth with a one under par total of 143.

The 42-year-old, forever to be remembered for his last-hole triple-bogey seven which cost him the Open title at Carnoustie in 1999, pitched to within 18 inches of the flag on the 439-yard 18th.

But that would have been of no use if his ball had not been found in dense rough on the right of the 17th fairway.

"I might have taken eight on that hole, but instead managed to par it," said Van de Velde, who had asked for better control of the spectators after his opening 70.

"The crowd were on my side both days, but just a little bit too close to my side at times.

"People are trying to communicate with you, but sometimes they were so excited they got in my way and I felt I had to say something."

With only four of the 96-strong field qualifying for Royal Birkdale Van de Velde, absent from Carnoustie last year after contracting a virus which even led to tests for bone cancer at one point, tied for second place with amateurs Chris Woods, from Bristol, and Rohan Blizard of Australia, three strokes behind Kenilworth's Jamie Elson.

"It means a lot to be playing in it again. There are only two tournaments a year I want to play in and play good in - the French Open and the Open," he added.

"I qualified in 1999 and played quite well I seem to remember, so maybe this is my chance."

Elson, a team-mate of Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell and Nick Dougherty in the 2001 Walker Cup, won by three with rounds of 67 and 73.

"I was as nervous as a cat all day," said the 27-year-old, whose father Pip was the European Tour's Rookie of the Year in 1973.

"It's great to get into the Open for the first time."

Scot Andrew Coltart, on the same Ryder Cup side as Van de Velde nine years ago, failed in his bid, but the agony belonged to Willett when a chip from beside the 18th green failed to make it up the bank and rolled back to his feet.

The Doncaster golfer has one more chance after receiving a late invitation to play in this week's Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, but he will have to finish in the top five there toi go on to Royal Birkdale.

ALL THE FINAL ROUND SCORES
(Gbr and Irl unless stated, four to qualify from each course, all par 72):

HILLSIDE

140 Jamie Elson 67 73

143 (x) Chris Wood 71 72, Jean Van de Velde (Fra) 70 73

144 Craig Goodfellow 71 73

145 Danny Willett 70 75, George Murray 70 75

148 Chris Kelly 71 77

149 Ian Walley 68 81, Andrew Coltart 72 77, Jorge Garcia (Spa) 75 74, (x) Jonathan Gidney 74 75, (x) David Coupland 75 74, Daniel Brooks 74 75

150 David Green 73 77, Brendan McCarroll 76 74

151 Mark Ramsdale 74 77, Ally Mellor 71 80, Anthony Tarchetti 75 76, Richard Gurney 77 74, Danny Belch 73 78, Steven Rettie 76 75, Jose Manuel Ocejo (Spa) 77 74

152 Iain Simpson 74 78, Michael Nesbut 76 76, Paul Reed 75 77, (x) Adam Keogh 74 78, James Whatley 78 74

153 (x) Jonathan Hurst 77 76, Carlos Balmaseda (Spa) 76 77, (x) Steven Brown 80 73, Craig Housden 74 79, Rob Harris 75 78, Jonathan Cheetham 77 76

154 Darren Bartlett 76 78, Mark Finlayson 74 80, Sean Mason 80 74

155 Matthew Richardson 72 83, Ben Briscoe 78 77, Jonathan Evans 76 79

156 (x) Charlie Cossins 79 77, Craig Butler 77 79, (x) Daniel Sefton 77 79

157 Lee Nash 76 81

158 (x) Darren Wright 77 81, Gary Emerson 81 77, Mark Sheppard 77 81

159 Ian Lewis 81 78, Jose Luis Adarraga (Spa) 81 78

160 (x) Lee Heaton 77 83, David Mansell 78 82, Gary Brown 77 83

162 Ron Won (USA) 79 83, Adam Scallon 83 79

163 Andrew Miller 80 83

165 Manfred Krainz (Aut) 85 80

166 (x) David Corsby 83 83, Mark Harling 81 85

167 Robert Hillas 85 82

No return Marco Bernardini (Ita), Chris Hall, Nick Deme, Daniel Belcher, Van Phillips, (x) Jake Amos

SOUTHPORT AND AINSDALE

141 (x) Tom Sherreard 72 69, Jon Bevan 70 71

143 Jamie Howarth 70 73, Gary Boyd 71 72, Jonathan Lupton 71 72

144 Sven Struver (Ger) 73 71, (x) Scott Arnold (Aus) 66 78, Francis McGuirk 69 75, Mark Murphy 70 74, Philip Golding 75 69, David Higgins

145 (x) Ian Winstanley 70 75

146 Cameron Clark 73 73

147 Ben Scott 74 73

148 Tim Rice 76 72

149 Jack Doherty 73 76, (x) Adam Andrews 72 77, David Skinns 73 76

150 Martin Sell 75 75, Justin Kehoe 72 78, Oscar Floren (Swe) 73 77, (x) Chris Paisley 75 75, Knud Storgaard (Den) 76 74, Lee Wood 76 74, (x) Shaun Malone 74 76

151 Tim Dykes 72 79, Diego Torne (Spa) 75 76, (x) Warren Harmston 79 72, (x) Wallace Booth 71 80

152 Chris Hanson 73 79, Colin Maroney 75 77

153 (x) Sean Elliott 72 81, Nick Ludwell 77 76, Adam Norman 75 78, Andrew Barnett 78 75, Allyn Laing 78 75

154 Jason Powell 76 78, Raymond Russell 75 79

155 (x) Kelvin Day 80 75, (x) Lloyd Godwin 74 81, (x) Nicholas Pateman 81 74, (x) Jack Senior 76 79

156 Chris Hudson 77 79, Paul Maddy 78 78, Graham Gordon 72 84, (x) Tom Shadbolt 74 82

157 Mark Bradley 81 76, Ian Proverbs 75 82, Guido van der Valk (Ned) 81 76, (x) Nicholas Panting 79 78

158 Albert MacKenzie 76 82, Nevil Bland 76 82

159 Oliver Whiteley 79 80, John-Paul Banbury 78 81

160 James Barr 81 79

166 (x) Stuart Havelock 80 86, Russ Berry 78 88

169 Roger Gray 79 90

174 Andrew Green 90 84

No return Ryan Riley, David Drysdale, Lloyd Kennedy, Jason Kelly, Jeremy Kavanagh

Scratched (x) Anthony Richardson

WEST LANCASHIRE

145 Barry Hume 70 75

147 David Shacklady 73 74, Peter Appleyard 72 75

148 David Carter 75 73, (x) Matthew Baldwin 74 74

149 Daniel Gaunt (Aus) 74 75, Andrew Willey 77 72, Peter O'Keeffe 73 76

150 (x) Jason Barnes 75 75, (x) Jason Palmer 72 78

152 Robert Watkins 74 78, Anthony Sproston 71 81, Andrew Cloke 80 72

153 (x) Mark Young 73 80, Simon Hurd 74 79, James Ruebotham 78 75, David Clark 74 79, Scott Dunlap (USA) 77 76, (x) Oliver Farr 78 75, Simon McGreal 73 80

154 Daniel Sugrue 77 77, (x) Duncan McCarthy 77 77, Jamie Moul 77 77, Barry Taylor 74 80

155 Sean Doherty 78 77

156 Matthew Griffiths 75 81, (x) Ryan Newman 74 82, Nicky Harris 74 82, Sam Osborne 76 80, Graeme Brown 78 78, Mariano Saiz Vega (Spa) 74 82

157 Antonio Espinosa (Spa) 74 83, James Crompton 77 80, Richard Sadler 77 80, (x) Steven Lane 77 80, (x) Keith Hamilton 76 81

158 Daryl Ley 83 75, Eddie Vernon 75 83, Nick Redfern 76 82, Markus Brier (Aut) 78 80, (x) Billy Fowles 74 84, (x) Kevin Freeman 81 77

159 Craig Simmons 75 84, Danny Taylor 77 82, (x) Mark Thistleton 79 80, James McGhee 80 79, Phil Worthington 78 81

160 (x) Josh Sims 79 81, Scott Emery 80 80

161 (x) Alex Hogben 79 82, Albin Thaller (Aut) 78 83

162 (x) Christopher Cannon 77 85, (x) James Byrne 79 83

164 (x) Tom Boys 85 79, George Woolgar 84 80

167 (x) James Atkinson 79 88, Greg Tucker 78 89

168 Lee Rooke 82 86

169 (x) Robert Bardsley 76 93

170 (x) Michael Saunders 80 90

177 Matthew Edwards 85 92

Scratched Andrew Oldcorn, Matt Morris, Mark O'Sullivan

No return Luis Claverie (Spa), Nigel Bark

Disqualified Jon Wetton

(x) denotes amateurs