Wilson's near-misses secure Birkdale spot

After finishing runner-up three times in the last five weeks, Oliver Wilson might be forgiven for wondering what he has to do to win a tournament. But the Englishman does at least have some consolation for his series of disappointments, because his recent form has won him a place in the starting field for The 2008 Open Championship.

Wilson's latest stint as bridesmaid came at the BMW PGA Championship, where he lost out to Miguel Angel Jimenez on the second hole of a play off at Wentworth's West Course. Yet despite the fact that he didn't lift the trophy, the performance still lifted Wilson into 45th spot in the world rankings, a jump of 30 places from the previous week and over 60 places since February. This run on the rankings has been beautifully timed: Monday 26th May was the cut-off date on which the world's top-50 players gained automatic exemptions for The Open, and Wilson found himself among that elite band just in time.

It remains to be seen whether Wilson can continue his run of form until The Open begins on 17 July, and even if he's playing well he'll still have to deal with very different conditions at Royal Birkdale than he faced at the BMW PGA Championship, Italian Open and Volvo China Open. And then, of course, there's the rest of the world's best 50 golfers to contend with, all but three of whom have now confirmed their attendance. One of those yet to do so is Australian Rod Pampling, who, like Wilson, pulled himself into the top-50 at the last minute by finishing second at the weekend.