MacGregor golfer Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke are just two of the ten former European Ryder Cup players taking part in The Open Championship qualifying event at Sunningdale today.
A minimum of 12 places are available for the tournament at Royal Birkdale next month, with Clarke aiming to avoid missing the Open for the first time since 1990, when the Ulsterman failed to qualify as an amateur.
Two-time Masters champion Olazabal has not played for five weeks due to acute fatigue caused by his continuing battle with rheumatism.
A brief appearance at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in May was the 42-year-old Spaniard''s last competitive outing – he missed the cut and said afterwards: "I am not myself and I don''t know what to do."
Paul McGinley is also in the field at Sunningdale, with the Irishman lining up alongside Callaway golfer Thomas Bjorn of Denmark and Frenchman Thomas Levet, who finished second at The Open in 2002.
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