Moriarty to lead Ireland’s magnificent seven in charge for Sandwich
The Glasson touring professional has been drawn at Rye where Co Louth amateur Simon Ward will also tee it up in the 72-man field seeking one of three qualifying places on offer at each venue.
Portmarnock’s Noel Fox and Royal Dublin’s Patrick Devine will be amongst those in action at Littlestone.
Asian Tour player Niall Turner from Muskerry and Limerick’s Tim Rice will attempt to qualify at Prince’s, which is next door to Royal St George’s, while Ballyliffin’s Brendan McCarroll will tee it up at Royal Cinque Ports alongside the likes of Tour stars Paul Broadhurst, Jose Manuel Lara and Marcel Siem.
Ireland already has four players in the field at Sandwich with US Open champion Rory McIlroy and major winners Pádraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell joined by Darren Clarke, who qualified thanks to his money list status on the European Tour last season.
Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal has withdrawn from the qualifying competition at Littlestone. The 45-year-old, who has battled arthritis for over 15 years, has also pulled out of the French Open starting on Thursday, but is still in the field for next week’s Scottish Open.
His only way to play at Sandwich now would be to finish in the top five at Castle Stuart near Inverness.
Former US Open champion Michael Campbell is another big name among the 288 players over the four courses. He plays at Prince’s alongside South African Hennie Otto, who was the first-day leader at Royal St George’s in 2003 and went on to finish 10th, and 1993 Ryder Cup player Joakim Haeggman.
Fellow Swede Jarmo Sandelin, part of the 1999 European side, is at Rye.
The British Open will be played at Royal St George’s for the 14th time in its history from July 14-17, with McIlroy the bookies’ favourite to add to his US Open success.
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