Justin Rose has landed a place in tomorrow's South African Open Golf Championship at East London - without having to play in the qualifying competition.
The 20-year-old from Hook in Hampshire was disappointed to learn he had to qualify after finishing second in the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Houghton GC near Johannesburg on Sunday.
Normally the top ten finishers are exempt for the next European Tour event, but because the South African tournaments are co-sanctioned, the rule doesn't apply.
Rose was halfway through a practice round at East London yesterday when he was called off the course and told he had a sponsor's invite into the South African Open.
He was preparing himself for the challenge of trying to finish top ten to qualify out of a field of over 100. But the sponsors saw him as a valuable addition to the Open entry afterhis brilliant performance in the Alfred Dunhill last week where he was pipped at the final hole by Australian wonder boy Adam Scott.
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