Bland's US Open bid falls just short (From Daily Echo)

Bland's US Open bid falls just short

8:17pm Monday 28th May 2012 in Golf By Gordon Simpson, Senior Sports Reporter

RICHARD Bland agonisingly missed out on a place in this year’s US Open, as he came up just short in international qualifying at Walton Heath.

The Stoneham player posted a score of five-under-par in the 36-hole event – two strokes shy of an automatic spot and one away from a playoff.

A total of 11 places had been up for grabs for the year’s second major, which takes place at Olympic Club, in San Francisco, next month.

While Bland was frustrated not to have made it in, he could at least take solace from his performance.

“I’m disappointed, but I probably played a lot better than I scored,” he said. “I just didn’t have an awful lot of luck on the greens.

“I hit a lot of good putts, but nothing really went in for me.

“But my game’s in decent shape and there should be some good results round the corner if I keep playing the way I am playing.

“My game’s right there, and I feel it has been for a couple of weeks now.”

Bland was five-under after his opening round, on the New Course, at Walton Heath.

But he was unable to improve on that in the afternoon, when he took on the longer Old Course, where scoring proved tougher all day.

Bland’s attention now turns to this week’s Wales Open, at Celtic Manor, before he heads to Sweden for the Nordea Masters.

Fellow Hampshire European Tour pro Sam Hutsby is also competing in both events.