Final hurdle in race to make Royal Birkdale

Jul 7 2008 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

PLAYERS from around the world will gather on Merseyside today to try and clear the final hurdle in the race for a place in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

Three courses – Hillside, West Lancashire and Southport and Ainsdale – will stage local final qualifying. There will be 96 players at each course vying for just four qualifying places from each venue in the field for the Open’s return to Southport on July 17.

The places will be decided over two rounds today and tomorrow with a number of local players harbouring dreams of lining up alongside the world’s greatest players at Birkdale. At Hillside Europro Tour regular Mark Ramsdale from Formby will be an early starter today in the second group out at 7.12am. Also in action are Chester-based professionals Dale Marmion and Mark Sheppard, and the host club’s Daniel Belch.

One of the biggest names in action at Hillside is French player Jean Van De Velde, who is out at 11.46am today and 8.24am tomorrow. He was joint second in the 1999 Open at Carnoustie.

The line-up at S&A includes Caldy’s Steven Capper, in his first year as a professional, who won his first title on the Players Tour at North Manchester recently, and Ian Ridgway from High Legh Golf Club near Warrington. Amateur Ian Winstanley, the former Northern Order of Merit winner from Formby, is out in the penultimate group at 1.15pm.

Former Cheshire Boys captain Josh Sims from Caldy is out in the second group at West Lancashire at 7.12am. Two groups later Mossock Hall’s David Shacklady will start his qualifying bid, having played at Carnoustie last year.

Also is in the line-up is Heswall’s Sandeep Grewal while amateurs Matthew Baldwin, (Royal Birkdale), the twice Lancashire champion, and Tom Boys (Royal Liverpool) have been paired together. Houghwood’s Barry Taylor is last out today at 1.27pm.

Other well-known names in the field include Markus Brier, Phillip Walton and Mark Mouland.

FULL LIST OF PLAYERS ON WWW.LIVERPOOLDAILYPOST.CO.UK