'Open IFQ'

Open IFQ draw for Australasia

12/22/2003 2:58pm BST
The draw for the second of five International Final Qualifying tournaments for The Open Championship has been released. You can find it at www.opengolf.com.

The event will be played at Kingston Heath Golf Club, Melbourne, Australia on January 20-21 and has attracted a field that includes 56 players native to Australia.

The field includes Nick O'Hern, a 32-year-old left-hander from Perth who has played on the European Tour. This year he tied for second place in both the ANZ Championship and the Madrid Open, ending the season in 37th place in the Order of Merit and winning over £420,000. He played in The Open at St Andrews in 2000, where he tied for 41st place with a one-under-par score of 287.

In addition to the professionals making up the majority of the field, there are also two amateurs, Luke Hickmott and James Nitties, who hold world ranking points. Nitties recently tied for eighth place in the Mastercard Masters played at Huntingdale in Victoria.

"The composition of this field confirms our belief that IFQ would prove attractive to players who want to qualify for The Open and are now afforded that opportunity on home soil," said R&A Assistant Secretary, Michael Tate. "It will certainly be interesting to see how the amateurs fare alongside many of Australia's up-and-coming players."