July 3, 2012

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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Former Oregon State men's golfer Morten Madsen qualified for the 2012 British Open after taking medalist honors at an Open Championship Local Final Qualifying in Southport and Ainsdale, England on Tuesday.

Madsen finished the 36-hole qualifying tournament with an 8-under 65-71--136 at Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club to finish two strokes ahead of a trio of golfers. Ian Keenan and Eliot Saltman advanced in a playoff and will join Madsen as 12 qualifiers to play at the British Open, which will be held July 19-22 at the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England.

"This is a dream come true as far as I'm concerned," said Madsen. "I have had a pretty good year on the Challenge Tour but this beats everything else I have ever done. It's the first time I have tried to qualify for The Open so I didn't know what to expect but I played great this morning and then got off to the best possible start this afternoon. It has all been a huge bonus for me."

The British Open is also known as The Open Championship or simply The Open and is the oldest of the four major championships in golf as it was first played in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. The 2012 British Open will be the 11th Open played at Royal Lytham & St. Annes and the first time since 2001 when David Duval took the title.

Madsen, who enjoyed a successful career with the Beavers before leaving after the fall of his senior season to play professionally, is fourth on Oregon State's career scoring average list with a 72.49 in 70 rounds and eighth on the Beavers' single-season scoring average list after posting a 72.41 in 2008-09.

The Silkeborg, Denmark native is the second current or former Oregon State golfer to qualify for a major as senior-to-be Nick Sherwood played in the 2012 U.S. Open in June after advancing through local and sectional qualifiers.

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