Queensland Open qualifying to start next week
BY iseekgolf.com | Von Nida Tour | 2003 Queensland Open | General | 21 Oct 2003
About 173 players, many of them aspiring amateurs from as far away as Scotland, will play off next Monday for 22 places in the final field for the $100,000 QLD Group Queensland Open Golf Championship at Ipswich. The qualifying round will be played at Virginia and Pacific Golf Clubs.
The qualifiers are part of a final entry of 307 players nominated for the 67th running of the championship from October 30 to November 2.
A total of 134 players were pre-qualified for the tournament, including leading Australian amateur Richard Moir who has gained a sponsor’s invitation after deciding to make his professional debut at the Open.
He follows in the footsteps of former Australian amateur team-mate Andrew Buckle who turned professional on the eve of the 2002 championship and went on to win the title.
Queensland’s best known professional teacher Charlie Earp, who will retire later this year from his long time position at Royal Queensland, will add his weight to the Open by conducting a free coaching clinic for juniors at Ipswich next Tuesday.
Earp, whose pupils include Greg Norman, will join Ossie Moore, Nathan Green and Richard Backwell at the Ipswich Day & Night Driving Range from 5:30pm for a two hour session.
News of the free clinic has caused widespread interest in junior ranks at clubs in the Ipswich region that organisers are already expecting more than 100 children to attend.
One club is reported to be bringing a bus load of about 50 enthusiastic juniors.
On Wednesday, about 40 of the highest ranked professionals will join corporate representatives for the traditional Pro-am at the Ipswich course which received a greening boost yesterday (Monday, October 20) with drenching rain for almost 12 hours.
Course superintendent Peter Curry said the rain had come at a perfect time in the course preparation and would ensure there would be no signs of the drought conditions which plagued the course when it hosted the Open for the first time last year.
Source – QGU
