BRIAN BARNES indicated yesterday that he may not be defending the British Senior Open at Royal Portrush next week. The 52-year-old Scot is concerned about the security situation in Northern Ireland.

Barnes, who finished third in the US Seniors' PGA Championship last Sunday to secure his player's card for next season, is competing at Royal Lythnm having qualified through his victory at Portrush a year ago.

"I have decided to wait another four or five days before making a final decision," he said. "With so much happening in my career in the US at the moment, I'm not prepared to take risks."

His victory last year had a fairytale touch to it, given that his father-in-law, Max Faulkner, won the British Open at Portrush in 1951.