Hume plays to pay back his friends

Published on Monday 14 July 2008 23:19

THE Scottish presence at this year's Open is minimal enough, so it's just as well that Barry Hume, the 26-year-old from Renfrew, made it through local final qualifying at West Lancs last week.

Douglas McGuigan, who has operated under the South Africa banner of late on the European Tour, has also declared an intention to compete as a Scotsman at Royal Birkdale, thanks to a Scottish father from Stirling. It means the Scottish contingent stands at a not-very-impressive five.

Hume, who along with McGuigan joins established Scottish hopes Paul Lawrie, Colin Montgomerie and Sandy Lyle in the Open field, perhaps deserves some time in the spotlight after a wretched recent spell, which has included losing his Asian Tour card at the end of last year.

He now competes on the EuroPro Tour and is hoping to claim a place on the Challenge Tour. A strong finish this week on Merseyside – it is his first appearance at an Open since Troon in 2004 – would help not only his confidence, but also his profile. Hume yesterday admitted that his slip in status has impacted greatly on his financial situation, and he has been reliant on friends from his time in Asia for helping him through the barren times.

"A group of friends from my time in Asia have given me a low-interest loan," he revealed while on the practice area at Royal Birkdale yesterday. "It's good to have that. But it's not my money so I have to be careful with it. If I have a good week I will given them a mention!"

The loan has helped pay for his rented flat accommodation on Merseyside this week and allows him to prepare properly, although he joked that he had been tempted by the thought of playing the first two days of an EuroPro Tour event in Bristol before teeing off at the Open on Thursday. He needs to compete in all the tournaments he can in order to fund his efforts having turned professional in 2002.

Hume believes he is in good enough form to better his last Open performance – when he missed the cut by two at Troon.

"I have played well this year," he said. "I have had a few results on the EuroPro tour, but it's not very high profile."

He can be sure that should his performance merits attention this week then he will be granted maximum coverage.

TOM WATSON TO QUIT IN 2010, PAGE 69