ROBERT Dinwiddie hit a sparkling 65 in the second round of Open qualifying at Montrose yesterday, but the six-under-par effort was still insufficient to earn him a place at this month's championships at Carnoustie.

And with 11 more North-Eastern golfers also failing to win an Open qualifying spot, Graeme Storm will be the region's only golfer in next week's showpiece unless either Kenneth Ferrie or Simon Dyson grabs the final place on offer at this week's Scottish Open at Loch Lomond.

Barnard Castle professional Dinwiddie produced the second-best round of the day at Montrose, but his first-round total of 73 meant his cumulative score of 138 was still three shots adrift of Justin Kehoe, who claimed the third of the three qualifying spots on offer at the venue.

It was a similar story for Brancepeth's Michael Curry, whose second-round 68 was scuppered by an opening 76, and Hexham's Ben Taylor who finished on one-over-par.

Ricky Lee was the only other North-Easterner who went into yesterday's second round with a realistic chance of qualifying, but the Tyneside amateur could only manage a two-under-par 69 at Monifieth, leaving him five shots behind the qualifying cut-off point. Billingham's Darren Cowle was three shots further away, while Ramside's Ian Parnaby finished at three over.

Graeme Bell's 74 made the Eaglescliffe golfer the leading North-Easterner at Downfield, while Thomas Curtis and Thomas Robinson both finished at ten over at Panmure.

One nightmare hole dashed Zane Scotland's hopes. Eight years after becoming the youngest qualifier for the event - he was just 16 at the time - Scotland was joint leader with two holes to play in the 36-hole final qualifying at Pannal.

But then came a triple-bogey seven and with only three places up for grabs there was no way back for the Surrey golfer, who just two weeks ago bogeyed four of the last five holes when only one off the lead at the French Open.

Scotland, yet to earn a European Tour card four years after turning professional, fell back to one under par with a 73 and commented: ''There's nothing you can say really - I just feel pretty sick right now.''