Walton proves he’s as competitive as ever

PHILIP Walton may be 46 and an absentee from golf’s big time for the best part of a decade but an indication of his competitiveness was evident in his reaction to yesterday’s round of 77.

It may leave him with an uphill battle of making the halfway cut but the man who ended runner-up to Padraig Harrington in the Irish PGA Championship last week showed why he is here (he led the local qualifier at nearby West Lancs) by firing a series of excellent shots and duly finishing ahead of a number of luminaries including Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Paul Casey and John Daly.

Even then, though, he wasn’t very happy with his ball striking.