The battle for qualifying spots in the 2008 Open takes another jump forward on Monday 30th June, with the playing of the International Final Qualifying events for Europe and America.
240 golfers will tee up at three venues to play for a minimum of 24 starting spots at Royal Birkdale: Dearborn Country Club and TPC Michigan in Michigan, USA; and Sunningdale, in England, where golfers will compete over both the club's Old and New courses.
Each event is a 36-hole stroke play competition, with at least 12 spots available in Europe and the same number in the States. Several times in recent years a number of players have tied for the final qualifying spot or spots, leading to dramatic sudden death play-offs that have at times involved half a dozen or more players.
With over 100 of the world's top 250 in the starting fields for the fully-subscribed events, competition is set to be tough and the standard high. Players competing at Sunningdale include Thomas Bjorn, who came so close to becoming an Open champion at Royal St George's in 2003; double Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal; Thomas Levet, who lost in a play-off for the 2002 Open; and the Northern Irish pair of Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy, the latter of whom made such a great impact in winning the Silver Medal for top amateur at Carnoustie last year.
In Michigan the field is equally strong, including players such as Arron Oberholser, Davis Love III, Daniel Chopra and Steve Elkington.
Click here to see the fields for the IFQ events in Europe and America.
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