Open putting romance at risk as qualifying goes worldwide

One of the great traditions of the Open Championship will be seen in all its glory for the last time this year. Though the Open itself begins at Royal St George's on Thursday 17 July, the real start of "Open week" for many will be the Final Qualifying on the previous Sunday and Monday.

At Prince's which shares a boundary with St George's, Royal Cinque Ports, just a couple of miles to the south in Deal, North Foreland and Littlestone, there will be fine golfers competing on testing courses for the right to play in the Open.

Only four years ago at Carnoustie the eventual winner of the claret jug, Paul Lawrie, was to be found battling his way in to the championship at the start of the week, while Gary Evans was also a qualifier before making a dramatic charge on the final day last year at Muirfield.

Already downgraded by the European Tour's decision to end their Scottish Open on the Sunday before the Open, rather than the Saturday as in the past, Final Qualifying will lose much of its glamour from next year. This will not be a problem for the touring professionals, both British and from around the world, who will have their own qualifying events.

The plan is to stage qualifiers on five continents, in Asia, Australia, South Africa, America and at Sunningdale. Regional and Final Qualifying will proceed as normal but will now be the preserve of the club professionals, the assistants and leading amateurs who used to rub shoulders, and often beat, the touring pros. Only three spots into the championship will be guaranteed from each of the four Final Qualifying sites.

"The idea is to make the Open as international as possible and make it more accessible for the international players who are not exempt," said Peter Dawson, secretary of the Royal and Ancient, the organisers of the championship. "This is exciting for the Open."

The R and A like to think of their championship as the world's Open, never just the British Open. The chances of the US Open following suit and having a qualifier in Britain? Nil. Dawson hopes the overall strength of the field will improve but admits romance may be lost in the process. "It is a balance," he said. "We want to have the strongest field possible teeing up. There may become romance in people qualifying in far flung places."

For the first Open in 10 years at St George's, the players will find a lengthened course with nine new tees, many strategically placed to make better use of the hazards, such as the huge bunker on the fourth. Prize-money has been increased only marginally, with the winner still getting £700,000, but advance ticket sales are ahead of schedule. The previous record at Sandwich of 130,000 for the week is likely to be broken.

St George's is another all-male club to host a major championship and is not thinking of changing any time soon. "We asked a number of ladies who play here regularly whether they would want to become members and the answer was 'no'," David Bonsall, the club captain, said.

But Dawson revealed that the executive branch of the Royal and Ancient, which acts as the governing body for the game worldwide, except in the States and Mexico, may breakaway from the club itself. "It is something we are actively considering and may need to get on with in the near future," he said.

* The United States Golf Association has accepted 7,820 entries for the US Open at Olympia Fields, near Chicago, in June. Exempt Europeans are Thomas Bjorn, Nick Faldo, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Colin Montgomerie, Paul Lawrie, Jose Maria Olazabal and Justin Rose. The youngest entrant is 13-year-old Mu Su, from Florida, the oldest George Bellino, 68, of Ohio.