PAUL MCGINLEY, one of the leading home challengers at Druids Glen this week, could be set for an extremely welcome bonus. The 29 year old Dubliner is strongly positioned to claim an exemption into the British Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes later this month.
Exemptions will be granted to the first five players or anyone tying for fifth place in the top 20 of a special order of merit. This involves cumulative earnings from six European tour events, starting with the Volvo PGA Championship and ending with this week's Irish Open.
As a result of his sparkling effort in Paris last Sunday when a course record equalling final round of 63 earned him a share of fourth place, McGinley is currently 14th in the list. With eight of those ahead of him already exempted through various other routes, however, he is effectively in sixth position, one short of the potentially exempt group.
The 28 Irish challengers at Druids Glen are Ronan Rafferty Philip Walton, Padraig Harrington, David Feherty, Eamonn Darcy, Des Smyth, Christy O'Connor Jnr, Darren Clarke Paul McGinley, Raymond Burns David Higgins, Eoghan O'Connell, David Errity, Gary Murphy Brendan McGovern, Jimmy Heggarty, Stephen Ham ill, David Jones, Karl O'Donnell, Paul Russell, Francis Howley, Damien McGrane, John Dignam and Damian Mooney, as well as four amateurs Jody Fanagan, Noel Fox, Keith Nolan and Richard Coughlan.
Though there were quite a number of players practising at Druids Glen yesterday, the week's activities start in earnest with the Canon Shoot Out at 3.0 this afternoon. The pairings are Barry Lane (England) and Bernhard Langer (Germany) Sam Torrance (Scotland) and David Feherty (Ireland) Colin Montgomerie (Scotland) and Ian Woosnam (Wales) Ernie Els (South Africa) and Michael Campbell (New Zealand) Seve Ballesteros (Spain) and Padraig Harrington (Ireland).
Meanwhile, Julian Douglas of Fusion informs me that his company has been commissioned by Druids Glen to design a web site which will be in place today, ready for the Irish Open. It offers a splendid opportunity for interested parties to study the course and facilities. The web sited address is www.fusio.ie/druidsglen.
On the US tour, D A Weibring gave a new dimension to the old saw about bewaring the sick golfer, when he captured the Greater Hartford Open by four strokes from US Ryder Cup skipper, Tom Kite. The 43 year old Texan, who contracted Bell's Palsy earlier this year, took top prize of $270,000 with a 10 under par aggregate of 270 at River Highlands.
Weibring, whose previous tournament outing was in the Memorial at the end of May, destroyed any prospective challenge from the chasing group when he covered the final nine holes in 31 for a round of 67 and the fifth win of his career. It was also a highly significant event for Kite insofar as it provided his first top 10 finish since January of last year.
