By Rob Cole
The road to winning the most cherished title in world golf starts today as 13 courses around the UK and Ireland host more than 1,400 wannabee Open champions as Regional Qualifying for the 148th Open at Royal Portrush begins.
The players are all competing for a spot in the Final Qualifying rounds before the main event starts on 14-21 July. There are 41 Welsh players in action, all dreaming of staying on course for a ticket to Portrush.
More than 100 spots in next month’s starting field have been filled, with the game’s best players set to tee off on Antrim’s pristine links, where Italy’s Francesco Molinari will hope to defend the title he so brilliantly claimed at Carnoustie a year ago.
Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka and Gary Woodland, this year’s three Major winners, will all have their eyes on the Claret Jug, along with the usual suspects, headed by 2014 Champion Golfer of the Year and home hero Rory McIlroy.
It’s expected that 140 players will progress from the Regional events to July’s Final Qualifying round, where four venues across the UK will be used to determine the final 12 places in the field for Royal Portrush.
Among the hopefuls starting out today are former world snooker champion Shaun Murphy, who is in the field at County Louth, and Sean Ervine, a former Zimbabwe cricket international. He will play at Frilford Heath.
The only other time The Open was played at Royal Portrush was back in 1951, when Welshman Dai Rees finished 12th.
Welsh Golfers at Regional Qualifiers for The 148th Open
Alwoodley: Gareth Jones (Sandiway)
Burhill: Matthew Harris (a) (Southerdown), Harrison Duckett (Weybrook Hall), Andrew Pestell (Chelmsford)
County Louth: Jake Hapgood (a) (Southerndown)
Fairhaven: Adam Wilson (Mold), Carl Edwards (Birchwood), Tom Matthews (a) (Oswestry), Lee Rooke (Royal St David’s)
Frilford Heath: Kristian Crane (Cardiff Golf Centre), Leon Clark (Greenmeadow), Mark Laskey (Brocket Hall), Rhodri Fieldhouse (Wrexham), Gareth Evans (Wrexham), Oliver Brown (a) (Vale Resort)
Minchinhampton: Ryan Haskell (Pyle & Kenfig), Jack Davidson (Llanwern), Sam McCarthy (Unattached), Matthew Dearden (Glamorganshire), Toby Hunt (St Mellons), Adam Constable (Cardiff), Kevin Davies (Caerphilly), Lloyd Williams (Swansea Bay), Owen Edwards (The Kendleshire), Craig Melding (Caerphilly), Delon Hau (Unattached), Huw Williams (Pyle & Kenfig)
Kedleston Park: Nick Lofthouse (Greenclose Ltd), Owen Evans (PT Golf)
Northamptonshire County: Curtis Hughes (Prestbury)
Sandy Lodge: Mark Smith (a) (Hampstead)
West Lancashire: Tom Froome (a) (Nefyn & District), Matt Parsley (Conwy), Jacob Davies (a) (Rhuddlun), Richard James (Aberdovey), Ioan Drosinos Jones (Abersoch), Gareth Evans (Oswestry), Evans Griffith (Conwy), Matt Tottey (North Wales), Andrew Humphreys (Aberdovey), Mark Pilkington (Aberdovey)