Omens good for Irish quartet at Sandwich
This is the fourth British Open Championship to be played at Royal St Georges since the war. In two of those years, it has proved a relatively good venue for the Irish, with Harry Bradshaw foiled of an outright win in 1949 by the famous ‘ball in the bottle’ incident, while Christy O’Connor Jnr shot a course record 64 on the opening day in 1984 before eventually finishing in a share of third place.
Our contingent were nowhere to be seen when the championship last came here in 1993, but the omens are still good for this year’s quartet and especially the in-form Darren Clarke and Pádraig Harrington. Furthermore, Paul McGinley quietly fancies his chances of producing a best-of-the-season performance, while Gary Murphy would be delighted with a top 20 finish, although insisting that he sees his presence in the Open as little more than a bonus after clinching his European Tour card at the Scottish Open over the weekend.
