Elkington books U.S. Open spot

In this file photo Australia's Steve Elkington tees off at the fourth hole on the second day of the World Match Play Championship at Wentworth in southern England September 16, 2005.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former major champion Steve Elkington celebrated on Monday but Mark O'Meara and John Daly missed out on qualifying for next week's U.S. Open.

Australian Elkington and American Goydos were among 16 players out of 117 at Colonial Country Club in Memphis, Tennessee who secured places at the second major of the year.

Elkington, whose only major victory came in the 1995 PGA Championship, shot scores of 64 and 73 to qualify for the U.S. Open for only the second time since 1999.

Paul Goydos, who ended a PGA Tour title drought of more than a decade by winning the Sony Open in January, finished level with Elkington to set up his first U.S. Open appearance since 2002.

Also going through were former PGA Tour winners Kirk Triplett, Olin Browne and Tim Petrovic.

There was disappointment, though, for former major winners O'Meara, Daly, Tom Lehman and Mark Calcavecchia, plus Ryder Cup player Darren Clarke.

Americans O'Meara, Lehman and Calcavecchia missed out after two rounds of sectional qualifying at Scioto Country Club and the Ohio State Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio.

Big-hitting Daly withdrew from the Memphis, Tennessee qualifier after opening with a 73 and Clarke was unsuccessful at Walton Heath Golf Club on the outskirts of London, England.

Northern Irishman Clarke, forced to qualify for a major for the first time in 12 years, returned scores of 75 and 72.

"The current state of my game is not good for the U.S. Open anyway, so it is maybe not such a bad thing," Clarke told reporters.

Britons Nick Dougherty and Graeme McDowell, Swede Peter Hanson and South African Darren Fichardt were among nine players to qualify at Walton Heath.

Two of the sectional qualifiers this year were international.

Ohtone Country Club near Ibaraki in Japan hosted a two-round qualifier last Monday, with Japanese trio Toru Taniguchi, Kaname Yokoo and Nobuhiro Masuda securing the three spots available.

Seventy-two players were already exempt for the U.S. Open and a further 83 spots were up for grabs in sectional qualifying at 13 venues on Monday.

The U.S. Open will be held for a record eighth time at Oakmont in Pennsylvania next week when Australia's Geoff Ogilvy defends the title he won last year by a shot at Winged Foot.