IAN Woosnam made it back into the Open championship yesterday - and then said: "Now I've just got to get the right amount of clubs in the bag."

Europe's Ryder Cup captain survived the 36-hole qualifying tournament at Sunningdale with a single stroke to spare on six under par after rounds of 66 and 68.

His quote was a reference to the 2001 championship at Lytham. He was tied for the lead with 17 holes to play, but then was told by his caddie he had 15 clubs in his bag instead of the permitted 14. He was given a two-stroke penalty and finished third.

The 47-year-old Welshman thought he had blown his chance of being among 14 qualifiers from the 120-strong field when he missed a four-foot putt and bogeyed the last in the gathering gloom at 9.30pm.

But he was then told that even if he had missed the tap-in as well he would have been fine.

Because tee-off times had been put back two hours because of the rain delay at Sunday's French Open there was no daylight for the play-off in which five players will battle for the final spot.

England's Kenneth Ferrie, David Geall and Tom Whitehouse, Swede Henrik Stenson and Frenchman Jean-Francois Lucquin were resuming at 8am.

Locally, there was no joy for Shaw Hill ace Nick Dougherty and Birchwood's Phil Archer.

And there was disappointment, too, for Macclesfield's Jamie Donaldson - he was disqualified.

• DAVID Shacklady lowered the course record to eight-under-par 60 as he won the Sandbach pro-am for a second year running.
  
  The Mossock Hall maestro handed in perfect figures of six birdies and an eagle, clipping a shot off the old mark set by Mobberley's Jon Cheetham three years ago.
  
  Gosforth's Garry Donnison, who a few days earlier equaled his own course record 64 in the Whitley Bay pro-am, was runner-up, a shot adrift, with Steve Parry, from Hart Common, on 63.
  
• GARY Melling homed in on the Mitsushiba Northern Order of Merit's Royton Sword at Crompton and Royton.
  
  The 31-year-old schoolteacher, who plays off plus one, opened up with a three-over-par 73 to trail three shots off the pace set by clubmate
  
  Kris Sutcliffe before closing with a 67 to prevail by one from Manchester's Daniel Taylor.
  
  Melling reeled of six birdies in the second round and as Sutcliffe faded out of contention with a 76, Marriott Worsley Park's Liam Kindon took third place after losing on countback to Taylor.
  
• PRESTWICH'S Barry Cuthbert emulated his brother Craig by winning the North West Manchester GA Championship at Rochdale with 69.
  
  And his clubmates John Liwosz, with 66, and Jimmy Green, 63, won the Association and Commonwealth trophies respectively.
  
• NICK Walsh smashed the course record at Ashton-under-Lyne when he racked up a blistering eight-under-par 62 to walk away with the captain's prize.

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