Two ex-Premier League players set for Open qualifying

For close to 2,000 hopefuls, the race to Royal Portrush begins on Monday.

Regional Qualifying for The Open takes place on 23 June at 15 venues across the UK and Ireland.

Roughly 100 players from the various sites will make it through to Final Qualifying on July 1 ahead of the Claret Jug showpiece on the Dunluce Links a fortnight later.

Golf’s oldest major is of course, open to everyone (with a 0.4 handicap or lower for a fee of £200) and there are a few notable contenders among the teaching pros and amateurs in the first stage.

The names of two former Premier League footballers particularly catch the eye.

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Jimmy Bullard, the former midfielder for Hull City, Wigan and Fulham among others, will tee it up in qualifying at Rochester and Cobham Park in Kent.

Bullard, who has filmed his quest for the Open on the Golf Life YouTube channel, pulled out of qualifying last year with injury but will tee off at 12:09pm on Monday.

Just last week, the 47-year-old scratch player impressed in a field packed with seasoned pros at the Costa Navarino Legends Tour Trophy in Greece.

Meanwhile, Peter Odemwingie, the former Nigerian international who made his name as a striker for West Bromwich Albion, Cardiff City and Stoke City, will tee off at Enville Golf Club at 12:36pm.

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Odemwingie, 43 qualified as a PGA professional last year after only picking up the sport in his early thirties.

Both Odemwingie and Bullard are eyeing spots on the elite senior tours when they become eligible on their 50th birthday.

“My eyes are on the senior tour in the future because I definitely know there is a player in me,” Odemwingie told the PGA website last year.

“This game offers us longevity and if you stay healthy you can play for a long time, as someone like Gary Player shows.

“Hopefully when I’m old with a lot of grey hairs I’ll be able to tell a pretty cool story about my time playing golf.”

The 15 courses which stage Regional Qualifying for The Open in 2025 are Bearwood Lakes, Caldy, Craigielaw, Enville, Ferndown, Frilford Heath, Gog Magog, Hesketh, Kilmarnock (Barassie), Lindrick, Moor Park, North Hants, Rochester and Cobham Park and The Island.

Click here for Regional Qualifying results for The Open.

Ben Parsons is the Senior Writer at bunkered and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.