Seventeen years after he played as a marker for John Daly in The Open Scotland's David Drysdale will finally make his major championship debut at Turnberry next month.

Helped by the 10th hole-in-one of his career the 34-year-old shot rounds of 65 and 66 to grab one of the 10 places on offer at the qualifying tournament at Sunningdale on Monday.

After nine previous attempts to qualify without success Drysdale said: "I can't wait. I've got the next two weeks off and I'd love to go over and have maybe a couple of games there."

As a leading local amateur in 1992 Drysdale was called on to partner first Roger Chapman and then Daly in the first group out in the third and fourth rounds when otherwise they would have played on their own.

"I was 17 and it was a big buzz. It would be just great if I got to play with Daly again - he was fantastic."

Drysdale, whose ace came on the 217-yard 10th hole of the New Course, has reason to believe that anything will be possible.

Ten years ago he was in the same qualifying event as Paul Lawrie and out-scored him by six in the opening round, but then he missed out while Lawrie went on to win at Carnoustie.

At nine under par Drysdale finished joint third with fellow Scot Gary Orr and South African Branden Grace, one behind England's Graeme Storm and Argentina's Rafa Echenique. Storm set a record for the new course with his sparkling eight-under 62 in the morning.

Welshman Rhys Davies, England's Paul Broadhurst and Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin were joint sixth and that left seven players in the play-off for the last two spots.

They were English trio Oliver Fisher, Mark Foster and Danny Willett, Scot Richie Ramsay, Irishman Peter Lawrie and Dutchman Taco Remkes.

Former Open runners-up Thomas Bjorn and Thomas Levet were among those who missed out.

Bjorn failed to make it into the play-offs by a stroke, but Levet shot seven too many and then was disqualified in any case for signing for the wrong score.

Shane Lowry, who last month won the Irish Open as an amateur, had his best two rounds as a professional so far, but 70 and 69 put him only one under.

France's Christian Cevaer, winner of the European Open two weeks ago, missed by five and Swede Niclas Fasth, runner-up in the Wales Open this weekend, by seven.

Ramsay and Fisher were the two who survived the play-off. Remkes bogeyed the first to drop out and then Lawrie double-bogeyed the short second and Willett bogeyed it to leave three fighting for two places.

Ramsay sank a 12-foot birdie putt on the third and Fisher pitched to within three feet at the next to knock out Foster.