"I've only been twice there [to St Andrews] for the Dunhill Links," Chalmers said after being one of three granted entry into the event at the home of golf. "My parents might come over, my wife and my kids and we'll make a big trip and a big deal out of it. I'm getting old so I don't know when I'm going to be back. Just to go to St Andrews - let alone play a British Open - it will be brilliant." There were similar sentiments expressed by Australian Open runner-up Rod Pampling, while the third Australian veteran to book his ticket, Brett Rumford, had to skip the formal presentation on the 18th green in order to catch a 6.30pm flight out of Sydney.

Speaking of Chalmers, the co-leader going into the third round, lamented his "lack of energy" late in the tournament as his big-hitting rivals left him in the shade off the tee, but he made up for it around the greens. "I think I only hit two greens on the front nine [on Sunday] and I think I only hit six greens for the day [on Saturday] to shoot even par," he said.

Leading amateur Lucas Herbert justifies his drive

Speaking of travel, how thankful is amateur Lucas Herbert for making the trip with his parents up the Hume Highway last Sunday night in order to qualify for the Australian Open. He was the leading amateur again for the second week in a row - seven days after missing automatic qualification for the Australian Open by the barest of margins - which triggered his all-night drive for Monday's qualification event. Herbert signed for a two-under 69 on Sunday and was forced to wait as fellow amateurs Ryan Ruffels and Todd Sinnott struggled late in the day to slip below the Victorian. "I knew it is such a tricky golf course that if I put in a good round or a good performance I would give myself a chance at least," Herbert mused later. "You never know what could happen."

Rugby league halves duck for cover

The Hacker wonders what Bulldogs coach Des Hasler must have been thinking when his star halves pairing, Josh Reynolds and Trent Hodkinson, inadvertently stepped into the middle of a driving range at The Australian. Not literally in the middle of a driving range, but the State of Origin-winning halves were seen among a small group ducking for cover to the left of the fairway on the eighth hole. Remarkably at the next hole the final group of Jordan Spieth, Rumford and Chalmers all sprayed their drives left. It brought howls of laughter from the gallery with the tee shots of all three resting within a handful of metres of each other. For the record, the trio all escaped without damage to their scorecard after signing for pars. Also spotted from the rugby league brethren in the same gallery was Manly outside back Cheyse Blair.

Lady luck smiles then laughs at Chalmers

What The Australian giveth, The Australian taketh away. There were more than a few people forgiven for chuckling when lady luck appeared to desert Chalmers during the final round on Sunday. Sharp minds would remember Chalmers was on the receiving end of an extraordinary piece of good fortune when a slightly strayed tee shot on the par-3 11th hole on Friday rebounded off a spectator and trickled to within spitting distance of the cup for a tap-in birdie. It was the same hole Scott Gardiner aced to win a new Lexus after a crisp seven-iron rolled back off the bank at the top of the green and trickled into the hole. Chalmers' tee shot into the par-3 fourth on Sunday somehow managed to rest on the lip of the greenside bunker to the amazement of the watching gallery. But as the left-hander was half-way down on his journey to play his second shot, the ball sunk into the bunker. It didn't matter, Chalmers played a gem of a bunker shot and saved par.

Open crowds up on last year

Australian Open organisers were happy with the four-day galleries at The Australian with more than 49,000 people filing through the gates. While the highly anticipated sequel to the Adam Scott-Rory McIlroy showdown did not quite eventuate, we're told the crowds around The Australian just eclipsed those recorded at Royal Sydney last year.