Brothers Lloyd and Elliot Saltman are leading the charge for places at next week's Open after the first round of qualifying.
Saltman brothers closing on Open places, Brier out in front
Brothers Lloyd and Elliot Saltman are heading the charge for spaces in next week's Open at Turnberry after the first round of qualifying in Scotland, where Jose Maria Olazabal and Jean van der Velde are both struggling.
With Austrian Markus Brier blazing a trail at nine-under at the Brasserie course in Kilmarnock, the Saltman siblings are challenging just behind.
With only four Turnberry places up for grabs on each of the three courses, 27-year-old Elliot leads at Glasgow Gailes after a four-under-par 67, while just down the coast at Kilmarnock Barassie 23-year-old Lloyd is in second place behind Brier following a seven-under 66.
Lloyd is much the better known of the pair. Four years ago at St Andrews he took the silver medal as leading amateur by finishing a brilliant 15th and two years ago was a team-mate of Rory McIlroy at the Walker Cup.
He has yet to earn a European Tour card, but said: "I've been playing well on the Challenge Tour the last three or four weeks and it would be fantastic if Elliot and I could both get in.
Late arrival
"He arrived when I was playing the 14th and told me he had shot four under and was leading. I was five under at the time and it was great to hear because we're not competing against each other this time.
"I'd love to be back in the Open. St Andrews was my only one so far because that was the year they changed it so that only the top 10 rather than the top 16 got in the following year."
It is thought that they would be the first brothers in the same Open since Seve and Manuel Ballesteros 25 years ago - when Seve won.
Lloyd's 66 stood as a course record for the altered Barassie course for only 45 minutes before Brier lowered it by two shots.
Brier was partnering double Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal and his former Ryder Cup team-mate Barry Lane, but they shot only 70 and 72 respectively on the par-73 lay-out.
Private plane
Because he was competing in the French Open yesterday, Olazabal hired a private jet at a cost of around £6,000 to get him to the qualifier.
He was still just too late, however, for a practice round.
"I got here about 3.40pm, but the course had been closed," he said. "I walked 14 holes and it didn't really count against me.
"I need something special to make it now, but the way I am playing it's not looking very promising."
It is distinctly more promising, however, than the situation facing 1999 Open runner-up Jean Van de Velde, who bogeyed the first four holes and finished with a five-over 76 after a late night flight from Paris.
Former European Open champion Kenneth Ferrie, who missed out on a Turnberry spot by one shot by finishing sixth in France, returned a two-under 71 at Barassie, but that was four behind Spaniard Manuel Quiros.
Leading score at Western Gailes was a three-under-par 68 from Scottish amateur James Byrne.
He leads by one from Spaniard Carlos Balmaseda, while ex-Ryder Cup star Steve Richardson had a 71 and former PGA champion Andrew Oldcorn 73.
