Scots join throng seeking Open qualifying spots

Published on Sunday 29 June 2008 21:52

SEVEN Scots will join an illustrious field at Sunningdale this morning in search of precious places in the field for the Open championship at Royal Birkdale next month when European final qualifying takes place over 36 holes of nail-biting competition.

With just 12 spots available in London, Alastair Forsyth, Gary Orr, Stephen Gallacher, Marc Warren, Euan Little, Steven O'Hara and Peter Whiteford will have their work cut out to join Colin Montgomerie, Paul Lawrie and Sandy Lyle in Southport.

While Forsyth showed his mettle when he qualified last month in similar circumstances for the US Open in California, the level of competition for places in the oldest major is even stiffer. Among the 120 players due to tee up at Sunningdale are Ryder Cup veterans of the calibre of Jose Maria Olazabal, Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley and Thomas Bjorn.

The Spaniard will swing a club for the first time since missing the cut at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth five weeks ago. He missed last year's Open with knee trouble, was out for seven months over the winter because of rheumatism and since his return in March has been battling fatigue.

The Asian Open champion Clarke, runner-up to Justin Leonard at Troon in 1997 and third behind David Duval in 2001, has played in every Open since failing to qualify as an amateur in 1990, while McGinley, second after the opening round last year, last missed out in 1995.

Both would have avoided the qualifier with a top-three finish in the French Open, but now face this route of trying to keep their Open runs going.

Along with Denmark's Bjorn, who came so close to winning at Sandwich in 2003, last July's leading amateur Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland will also take his pro chances over the Old Course at Sunningdale.

A further 12 spots are also on offer in America today, with Scotland's Martin Laird, a regular on the US PGA Tour, joining Jesper Parnevik, twice a runner-up, Australian Steve Elkington, who was in the same play-off as Ernie Els and Thomas Levet at Muirfied, and Davis Love III in trying for a berth at Birkdale.

In all more than 100 of the world's top 250 golfers are in action.