Sergio Garcia will be one of 78 players hoping to earn one of eight Open Championship places available at Open Championship International Final Qualifying America, on Monday.
The Spaniard, who has produced six top-ten finishes at golf’s oldest Major, will play 36 holes at Gleneagles Country Club in Plano, Texas, in an attempt to secure a 14th consecutive Open appearance.
Amongst notable names attempting to earn their ticket to Royal St George’s on the 6,871 yard, par 70 Queens Course at Gleneagles is Aaron Baddeley of Australia, who finished tied sixth at the Players Championship, last weekend. Despite playing in five Open Championships since 2001, the 30 year old three-time winner on the PGA Tour has yet to make the cut.
Davis Love III, a veteran IFQ campaigner, is in the field hoping to secure a place at his 25th successive Open Championship. Love III made his Open debut at Muirfield in 1987. Since then, he has registered five top-ten finishes, with his best result, tied-fourth, coming at Royal St George’s in 2003.
Another player whose best Open finish – tied-sixth – came at Sandwich in 2003 is England’s Brian Davis. Davis, who is trying to make his eighth Open appearance, has already had three top-20s on the PGA Tour this year, resulting in a current Official World Golf Ranking of 91st. Although the 36-year-old finished in the top 50 of the FedExCup in both 2009 and 2010, he has not contested an Open Championship since 2007.
Stars of the 2008 Ryder Cup JB Holmes and Boo Weekley are each aiming to take one of the eight berths on offer. Weekley, 37, and Holmes, 29, have both enjoyed strong performances at The Open in recent years. Two-time winner on the PGA Tour Holmes finished tied-14th on the Old Course, last year, while Weekley, also twice a winner on Tour, finished tied-13th at Turnberry in 2009.
Other high-profile contenders include Rory Sabbatini of South Africa, Germany’s Alex Cejka and Americans Ricky Barnes, Heath Slocum and DA Points.
Gleneagles Country Club, a venue chosen to tie into the PGA Tour’s Texas swing, lies less than 50 miles from the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, where the Crowne Plaza Invitational is taking place this week. Gleneagles is also just 20 miles from the TPC Four Seasons Resort, where the HP Byron Nelson Championship is being played the following week.
Play will get underway at 7.00am local time from two tees. Live scores and stories will be published on Opengolf.com throughout the day.
About IFQ:
International Final Qualifying (IFQ) events for The Open Championship were introduced in 2004 and are held on five continents to give more players from around the world the chance to gain direct entry into golf's oldest championship.
IFQ for the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George’s:
IFQ - Australasia: Kingston Heath, Melbourne, Australia, 11 January
IFQ - Africa: Royal Johannesburg & Kensington, South Africa, 19 & 20 January
IFQ - Asia: Amata Spring, Thailand, 24 & 25 February
IFQ - America: Gleneagles, Plano, Texas, USA, 23 May
IFQ - Europe: Sunningdale, Berkshire, England, 6 June
