OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP RELATED STORIES Rd 1: Battling Lam makes top 15 with fine 72 Rd 1: Choi crafts brave 72 in worst of weather Rd 1: Liang faces uphill task after opening 77 Rd 1: 17th hole birdie keeps Chia's chances alive Rd 1: Prayad struggles with wind and cold for 77 Rd 2: Choi takes lead with two closing birdies Rd 2: Liang makes first major cut with fighting 71 Rd 2: Lam makes cut and Singapore golf history Rd 2: Late bogies mean early exit for Prayad Rd 3: Choi joint 2nd as Norman storms 2 ahead Rd 3: Liang fires worthy 77 as scores soar Rd 3: Lam is blown away by Birkdale winds Rd 4: Choi heartbroken as Harrington defends Rd 4: Closing 74 gives Liang more major hopes Rd 4: Tough Open makes Lam eye Asian success Rd 4: Angelo Que means to learn and return Final scores The 2008 Open Championship home page Guide to the Royal Birkdale Course Four Australians qualify for The Open 67 Sentosa hopefuls aim for four Open berths Randhawa going for fourth Open outing Chia, Que and Ali lead Open berth battle Chia, Blyth, Lam and Que headed for Birkdale Dyson qualifies for Open - Rodgers, Brown and Jeev miss out Liang to make golfing history at Birkdale Prayad out to erase Masters misery at Birkdale Que looks to ride his winning wave Lam takes a second shot at Open Liang back in the swing and ready to shine Confident Prayad ready to face Birkdale breezes Lam aiming at top 25 - and having fun Chia out for Malaysian first at his second Open Que hoping to become a familiar face ASIAN GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Bae clinches home win Tanihara takes Panasonic title Su Dong's lead cut to two Hole-in-One Jeev shares the lead Korea, Philippines, Italy for World Cup Lu wins record 4th Taiwan Masters Aussie PGA rethinks 'One Asia' GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Seve has a brain tumor Schwartzel wins by three Jay Haas on brink of another senior money title Justin Leonard looking to break Texas Open record Father & Son event sign up with Sky Sports

Lam makes cut and Singapore golf history

Lam Chih Bing produced a slice of history at the British Open when he became the first Singaporean to qualify for the weekend rounds on Friday.

The Asian Tour stalwart overcame a nightmarish start at Royal Birkdale when he triple-bogeyed his opening hole but fought back with late birdies on the 15th and 17th holes to sign for a five-over-par 75 and a two-day total of seven-over-par 147.

“It was such a rollercoaster today. So many things that could have gone wrong went wrong. I got off to a nightmarish start but I knew that I could make some birdies coming in on the par fives,” said Lam.

“I hope to play well this weekend and hope my performance here will be a boost for golf in Singapore.”

After an opening 72 which left him only three shots off the lead, Lam’s second round got off to the worst possible start when he hit a wild approach shot into the galleries. Three attempted chips and two putts later, Lam was staggering off with a costly seven.

Another bogey on the third saw him staring at an early trip home to Singapore but Lam fought back gallantly. He accumulated four birdies against four more bogeys to safely make the halfway cut which was projected at eight-over par.

“I knew I had to make a few birdies coming in and luckily, I played the par fives really well. At the start, it wasn’t that I hit bad shots for those dropped shots. I had one bad swing on the first hole which cost me three shots.

“I actually played well all day and missed so many putts. I pulled it off at the right moments,” said Lam, who is the second Singaporean after Mardan Mamat to compete in the British Open.

Lam’s birdie on 15 came after a good pitch to four feet of the cup while he hammered a drive on 17 which left him only with an eight iron approach to the par five 17th but he missed the eagle putt from four feet.

After missing the cut at Carnoustie last year, Lam said his weekend appearance was a reward for the hard work that he has put in over the past 12 months.

“I’ve been working very hard since last year and I got a lucky break by meeting Andrew Welsford who is now my swing coach. With his help, I can now pull off the shots that I want to,” said Lam.

July 18, 2008