No respite for Noren | Golf | Sport | Express.co.uk

Instead the 28-year-old drove from Celtic Manor to a hotel near Sunningdale and prepared himself for his next test, a 36-hole qualifying competition on Monday for 10 places in next

month's Open Championship. If Noren was successful among the 96-strong field it would complete a remarkable eight days in his life. Last Monday he survived a US Open qualifier at Walton

Heath with just a single shot to spare and so will be playing his first-ever major in America next week. Now his confidence is sky-high after he beat Dane Anders Hansen and France's

Gregory Bourdy by two shots for his second European Tour title. "I'll celebrate on Tuesday," said Noren, In a weekend of wind and rain that saw defending champion Graeme

McDowell - also next week's title-holder in Washington - equal the worst score of his Tour career with an 81 and Darren Clarke have back-to-back 80s for the first time, Noren produced

rounds of 71 and 70 to hold off the chasing pack. "I never really believed I could do well on tough courses, but now we play on them all the time," he added. "I've proved

to myself that I can hit a lot of greens and not just rely on my short game." Clarke's problems came mainly on the 485-yard 14th. In the third round he put two balls in the water

and took eight, then on Sunday three more found the lake and led to a sextuple bogey 10. "And I hit them all well," said the Ulsterman after finishing 18 over. "Let's

just say this course does not really fit my eye. It never has done." At least Clarke did not need to turn his attentions to Open qualifying. His 30th place on last season's money

list earned him an exemption - just. His fellow Ryder Cup vice-captain Paul McGinley was relieved to be playing, though. McGinley's world ranking of 551st at the close of entries had

failed to earn him a place in the field, but he came in as a reserve when fellow Dubliner Peter Lawrie decided not to play after his wife Philippa gave birth to their fourth child on Friday

night. The biggest name taking part was last year's Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie, desperate to make it 22 Open appearances in a row. But Dane Thomas Bjorn, who lost a three-shot

lead in the closing four holes the last time The Open was at Sandwich in 2003, was among a number of late withdrawals with a back injury.