THE OPEN RELATED STORIES The Open Home Page The Open Scores Round 4: Tiger Woods seals two shot victory Round 4: Emotional Tiger Woods thanks late father Round 4: Players give Hoylake top marks Round 4: Ernie Els continues impressive Open run Round 4: Marius Thorp wins Silver Medal Round 4: Sergio Garcia takes positives from Open Round 4: Chris DiMarco consoled by second place Round 4: Tiger Woods edges ahead of field Round 3: Sergio Garcia in sight of first major title Round 3: Ernie Els happy to still be in the mix Round 3: Putting problems keep Woods back Round 3: Chris DiMarco counts on experience Round 2: Woods and Els set for showdown Round 2: Singh & Monty amongst cut casualties Round 2: Ernie Els relishes being in contention Round 2: David Duval frustrated again Round 2: Phil Mickelson well off the pace Round 2: Poor showing by Ryder Cup hopefuls Round 1: Woods makes move with eagle on 18th Round 1: Clarke to take break to care for wife Round 1: Seve Ballesteros happy with opening 74 Round 1: Ernie Els finds putting touch again Round 1: Garcia amongst early front runners Leading contenders for the British Open Tiger Woods ready for Open defence Geoff Ogilvy enjoying life as a champion Weather set fair at Hoylake Phil Mickelson in confident mood Tiger Woods & Nick Faldo fued simmers Trevor Immelman pulls out of Open Players expecting to score low at Hoylake Ben Curtis has sights on second Open title Montgomerie still optimistic about breaking duck Rest of the World catching the Americans Hoylake ready for a new chapter Europeans seeking a Major turnaround Trevor Immelman celebrates birth of first child Tiger Woods is bookmakers favourite Hot, dry and fast Hoylake awaits players Nick Faldo & Tiger Woods row diffused Hoylake a mystery to the whole field John Daly plays "The Cavern" Retief Goosen not confident heading into Open John Senden joins record number of Australians Woods starts Open defence with Faldo The Open Preview Course Guide: Hoylake - Royal Liverpool 2006 European Tour Schedule GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Clarke pushing for Ryder Cup Duval still trying to get back on form Ochoa aims to push Sorenstam USGA adds another sponsor Sorenstam to retire at the end of 2008 Garcia back in the World Top 10 GREAT GIFTS FOR GOLFERS Ten great Golf Breaks to be won! Half Price Golf Vouchers InstructaCard - your portable pro! Trion:Z Magnetic /Ion Bracelets Golf Insurance

Trevor Immelman pulls out of Open

South Africa's Trevor Immelman has pulled out of the British Open to be with his wife who is due to give birth to their first child, R & A sources said on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old, whose wife Carminita is having a caesarean section in Orlando, Florida, will be replaced by first alternate Andrew Buckle of Australia.

Immelman had considered withdrawing last week just before leaving America for The Open but the doctor said he did not see any chance that his wife would have the baby this week.

"My wife really wanted me to come over to this tournament," Immelman had said on Monday. "She knows it's my favourite."

A three-times winner on the European Tour, Immelman had been scheduled to tee off at 1431 local (1331 GMT) in Thursday's opening round at Hoylake's Royal Liverpool Golf Club with Denmark's Thomas Bjorn and American Davis Love III.

Immelman had run into form ahead of the Open and won his first PGA Tour title nine days ago when he held off a last-day charge by Tiger Woods to triumph by two shots at the Western Open, a tournament once viewed as the unofficial fifth major.