'International Qualifying'

Coltart and Frost enter international qualifying

11/26/2003 11:40am BST
Andrew Coltart of Scotland and South Africa's David Frost will start their campaign for the 2004 Open Championship title at the first International Final Qualifying event which will be played at Atlantic Beach, Cape Town on January 8-9.

Coltart, a member of Scotland's winning team in the Alfred Dunhill Cup in 1995, also played in the controversial Ryder Cup match at Brookline, losing 3 and 2 to Tiger Woods in the singles. Before joining the European Tour in 1991 he represented Great Britain & Ireland in the Walker Cup. In 1998 he topped the Australian order of merit and claimed his first European victory at the Qatar Masters. Coltart is currently in 144th place in the world rankings with 68.63 points and an average of 1.09.

Frost finished sixth in the 1987 Open at Muirfield and has twice tied for seventh place, at Royal Lythan & St Annes in 1988 and at Carnoustie in 1999. He has been a consistent winner in the United States, Europe and South Africa, where he has captured the Million Dollar Classic at Sun City three times. He has had top 10 finishes in the US Masters and USPGA Championship and captained South Africa to successive victories in the 1997 and 1998 Alfred Dunhill Cups at St.Andrews. Frost's world ranking is 208 with 39.47 points and an average of 0.72.

International Final Qualifying for The Open has been introduced for the first time and will be played on five continents to offer players from around the world a greater opportunity to claim a place among the 156 competitors who will compete for the title at Royal Troon in July 2004.

Entry into IFQ is open to amateurs and professionals holding Official World Golf Ranking points. Four players from the South African event will be guaranteed a place in the starting line-up at Troon. Other IFQ events will be played in Australia, Malaysia, America and England.