ONLY three Irish players are exempted into the British Open, which means that as many as 12 colleagues will be competing in final qualifying at four courses close to Royal Lytham and St Anne's next Sunday and Monday. But the figure could be lower, depending on performances in the Scottish Open at Carnoustie, where further exemptions are at stake.
The exempted Irish players are Philip Walton and Darren Clarke, through last season's European Order of Merit, and Padraig Harrington, through a more recent process.
Six Irish challengers will be competing at St Anne's Old Links - Eamonn Darcy, Christy O'Connor Jnr, Jimmy Heggarty, Raymond Burns, Ronan Rafferty and Paul McGinley. David Feherty is the lone competitor at Formby; Eoghnn O'Connell and John McHenry are drawn at Fairhaven while Francis Howley, David Higgins and Des Smyth will be in action at Southport and Ainsdale.
Several of those players, including McGinley and McHenry, will be familiar with the terrain from amateur challenges in the Lytham Trophy as members of Golfing Union of Ireland squads. In that context, it is highly appropriate that the GUI should choose this particular Open to have an official presence in the Exhibition Hall.
It is their first such venture and they will be sharing a stand with the three other home unions and the hope is that Irish visitors to the championship will take the time to stop by.
