Faldo secures US Open place

Nick Faldo secured a 17th successive appearance in the US Open by sinking one of the most pressured putts of his long golfing career.

Faldo, enduring the qualifying process for a major for the first time since 1976, had to hole a six-foot birdie putt on the final green at Lake Nona in Florida in order to clinch a place in next week's tournament at Shinnecock Hills.

A few minutes earlier American John Cook, who finished second to Faldo in the 1992 Open Championship at Muirfield, eagled the hole in a last ditch bid to secure his own entry.

But he was bumped out of the top three places that went through at Lake Nona as Faldo held his nerve for a round of 69 and a five-under-par total of 139. Just six weeks short of his 47th birthday, the winner of six majors admitted: "I'm very proud of myself. I'll definitely go home and crack open a bottle of the good stuff to celebrate this one."

Those who did not make it included former Open champions Tom Lehman and Mark O'Meara, Sweden's Jesper Parnevik and Briton Luke Donald.