Southport,
England, 11th July 1998 - Former U.S. Masters champion Larry Mize
is among golf's top names in this weekend's final qualifying for places in the
156-man field for the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale next week.
Mize
won the Masters in 1987 when he beat Greg Norman with a memorable 45-yard
pitch-and-run into the second playoff hole. Ironically, he suffered a similar
fate only last Sunday when he lost a playoff for the Greater Hartford Open to
Olin Browne on a 40-foot chip-in.
Mize,
39, will play at the nearby Hesketh Golf Club with former European Ryder Cup player
David Gilford.
A field
of 120 will try to qualify on Sunday and Monday at Hesketh with similar numbers
at three other courses in the Southport area. Some 55 places will be up for grabs.
Former European Ryder Cup
player Gordon Brand Jnr.will be attempting to qualify at the same course
along with Rodger Davis of Australia, joint runner-up at the 1987 Open.
Among
players scrapping for places at the Hillside Club will be New Zealander Michael
Campbell, third in the Open which John Daly won at St. Andrews in 1995, and
Gary Nicklaus, son of Jack.
