GOLF DIGEST: SENIORSRoger Chapman will look to continue his unforgettable 2012 and secure a place in the history books when he begins his bid for the British Open at Turnberry today.
The 53-year-old Englishman claimed his first senior Major in May – and only the fourth title of his professional career – when he won the Senior PGA Championship and he followed that up with a triumph at the US Senior Open earlier this month.
Those successes saw Chapman join Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Hale Irwin as the only players to have won those two Majors in the same season. He now has the chance to join Player in an exclusive club of having claimed those two titles and also the British Open in the same season.
Chapman did not have much success in the British Open during his days on the European Tour, including at Turnberry in 1977.
This week’s field contains 33 former Major champions, but last year’s winner Russ Cochran of America is absent due to injury. Ireland’s Philip Walton, Des Smyth, Mark McNulty, Denis O’Sullivan, Eamonn Darcy are among the field.
On TV: Sky Sports 1 from noon.
EUROPEAN LADIES AMATEUR: Newly-crowned Irish Girls' champion Jessica Carty and international Chloe Ryan flattered to deceive in the first round in Slovenia yesterday.
Carty from Holywood, starting at the 10th, covered her first nine in a highly-respectable 36 but after a birdie at the first to return to level par she bogeyed five of her last seven holes to return a 76, 10 strokes off the pace.
Ryan from Castletroy was steady much of the time but had a double bogey on 10 followed by a bogey at the next and she finished with a three over par 74.
Paula Grant of Lisburn shot a a 78 – her cause not helped by a double bogey seven on the 12th.
Leading the way after round one are the Czech Republic’s Katerina Ruzickova, Spaniard Andrea Amoros and Swede Johanna Bjork who all posted scores of 66 - five under par.
INTERPROVINCIALS: Munster and Ulster will meet to decide the destination of the Interprovincial trophy for 2012.
Munster’s 6-5 victory over Leinster made it two wins out of two, while Ulster coasted to victory for the second day in a row, beating Connacht by a margin of six points.
Munster won the foursomes 3-1 but Leinster battled back in the singles and it took a good comeback from Pat Murray who defeated Jack Hume on the 18th to secure victory.
