Great chance for first Irish winner of Welsh Open

A STRONG contingent of Irishmen line up for the Welsh Open strokeplay championship, which begins this morning over the challenging Royal St David's links at Harlech.

First to go out will be Darren Crowe from Dunmurry, who plays with England's Les Dodd and Welsh Order of Merit champion James Williams in the opening round.

Michael McGeedy who comes from the same club - North West - as new Amateur Champion Brian McElhinney, and Holywood's Rory McIlroy are players certainly capable of delivering the goods, while County Sligo's Sean McTernan is a powerful ball striker and cannot be discounted.

While players from Scotland and several continental countries have lifted this crown, no Irishman has ever won and this year the field is probably stronger than ever with some still seeking to impress the Walker Cup selectors.