PGA TOUR rookie Harris English led the list of eight players who qualified Monday for this year's British Open. He also set a course record in the process.

The qualifier, the only one held in the United States, took place Monday at Gleneagles Country Club in the Dallas suburb of Plano. As in previous years, it comes in between the PGA TOUR's two tournaments in the North Texas area, last week's HP Byron Nelson Championship and this week's Crown Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

English opened the 36-hole qualifier with a course-record 10-under 60 in the first round, with a string of six consecutive birdies at one point. He followed with a bogey-free 63 in the second round for a two-round total of 17 under. That was three shots better than Greg Owen.

Besides English and Owen, the other six qualifiers are Stephen Ames, Andres Romero, Justin Hicks, Bob Estes, Daniel Chopra and James Driscoll.

Another PGA TOUR rookie, Russell Knox, was tied with Estes, Chopra and Driscoll at 9 under but was the odd man out in the four-man playoff.

QUALIFIERS FOR BRITISH OPEN

Daniel Chopra made not one but two aces Monday in a practice round at Pebble Beach for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Chopra first aced the par-3 seventh hole, which played to 103 yards Monday. Chopra holed out with a PING Tour-S Rustique 50-degree wedge. Ten holes later, at the 17th, Chopra made an ace from 176 yards out with a PING S56 7-iron.

The aces were Chopra’s 14th and 15th in his career.

The Swede has made seven previous starts at the AT&T with a high finish of T5 in 2006. 

This is the type of week that could make someone’s entire season. Take Daniel Chopra. He’s missed seven of his last nine cuts, including six in a row at one point. Right now, though, he’s just one stroke off the lead after four birdies in his last eight holes to get to 8 under for the week with eight holes left in his second round.

Prior to this week, Chopra played 19 events, making the cut in just five of them on his way to a little more than $262,000 in earnings and a rank of 166th in the FedExCup points standings.

A big week here would also go a long way for Chopra in terms of securing his future. With his last victory coming in 2008, Chopra, a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR, needs to finish in the top 125 to keep his full playing privileges. -- Brian Wacker