Downfield, Monifieth and Panmure stage Senior

Open qualifying competitions on July 19

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN TOUR
Three courses in the Carnoustie and Dundee area - Downfield Golf Club, Monifieth Links, and Panmure Golf Club - have been named as the Qualifying venues for The 2010 Senior Open Championship presented by MasterCard.
Carnoustie’s Championship course will host the 24th Senior Open Championship from July 22-25, with the three neighbouring courses each hosting an 18 hole Qualifying Tournament on Monday July 19.
Non-exempt players will compete for the chance to join some of golf’s most iconic names in the field at Carnoustie, including Tom Watson, The 2009 Open Championship runner-up, who returns to the course where he won the first of his five Claret Jugs in 1975.
They will all be hoping to take inspiration from American Pete Oakley who came through Qualifying for The 2004 Senior Open Championship and went on to win the title at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
Downfield Golf Club, Monifieth Links, and Panmure Golf Club all hosted Final Qualifying for The Open Championship when it was last played at Carnoustie in 2007, when Ireland’s Padraig Harrington claimed his first Claret Jug.
A record 326 players attempted to Qualify for The 2009 Senior Open Championship, with 28 securing a place in the field at Sunningdale, in England, including American Kirk Hanefield who went on to post the only hole-in-one of the Championship.
Andy Stubbs, Managing Director of the European Senior Tour, said: “We are very fortunate to have another three excellent courses hosting Qualifying for this year’s Senior Open and we expect another record turn-out.
“Downfield, Monifieth and Panmure have all previously hosted Final Qualifying for The Open Championship and should provide the qualifiers with a stern test of golf ahead of The Senior Open Championship being played at Carnoustie for the first time.”
After visiting Sunningdale and the South of England for the first time in 2009, The Senior Open Championship returns to Scotland this year following visits to Muirfield in 2007 and Royal Troon in 2008. It is once again supported by Presenting Sponsor MasterCard and EventScotland, the national events agency.
Tickets for The 2010 Senior Open Championship at Carnoustie can be booked now in advance either via www.europeantourtickets.com or by calling +44 (0) 800 023 2557.