Open IFQ at Sunningdale on Monday

offers 10 places for Turnberry

NEWS RELEASE FROM R&A
Shane Lowry will join Johan Edfors, Nick Dougherty and Thomas Bjorn in the field for Monday’s Open Championship International Final Qualifying (IFQ) - Europe.
Sunningdale will play host to a total of 96 competitors who will each play 18 holes on the Old and New courses over the day in an effort to secure one of the ten places on offer at Turnberry.
Lowry will undoubtedly attract attention. His spectacular win at the Irish Open last month made him only the third amateur to win on the European Tour and the first to do so in his maiden Tour event. His performance at next week’s IFQ will give an indication of how he is adjusting to the professional game and, more importantly, whether he will make his Major Championship debut at Turnberry later this summer.
The highest-ranked player in the field is Sweden’s Johan Edfors, who will be looking to repeat last month’s successful US Open qualifying performance at Walton Heath. Currently ranked 95th in the world, the 33 year-old has played in three consecutive Open Championships since 2006 and will want to ensure that it is four-in-a-row this July.
Sure to receive plenty of local support on the day is Sunningdale resident, Nick Dougherty. Like Edfors, the Englishman has also played in the last three Opens, and his 2007 Dunhill Links Championship win proved that he can compete with the best in the world on the links.
If Thomas Bjorn manages to reach his 13th Open Championship, he will improve on an excellent record which has seen him register four top-tens, including two second place finishes. The Dane, who formed part of Europe’s winning Ryder Cup team in both 1997 and 2002, is presently enjoying a good run of form with two top-tens and a top-twenty in his last five Tour events.
Also taking their place in the international line-up are Australia’s Scott Strange, France’s Thomas Levet, Sweden’s Alexander Noren, Northern Ireland’s Gareth Maybin and India’s Jyoti Randhawa.
IFQ – Europe is the final international qualifying event of the year, completing a cycle which has seen the event visit Africa, Australasia, Asia and America over the last five months.
The field for International Final Qualifying – Europe is available to view online at Opengolf.com. The draw will be published today.