Woosnam avoids low-key scramble

It is a sight few in golf would have wanted to see. After missing the cut in the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond on Friday, Ian Woosnam had to decide whether to take his chances on gaining an entry for this week's Open through the mini order of merit that has been running since May, or play in the qualifiers being held at four courses around Lytham today and tomorrow.

As the former world No 1 is fairly certain to get in by the first route, it came as no surprise when he was reported to have returned to Jersey. Seeing Woosnam scrabble around a final qualifier would have been like watching Luciano Pavarotti appear on Stars In Their Eyes. Worth tuning into, but not quite right.

Saying that, Woosnam only has himself to blame for not qualifying. There are 110-odd exemptions on offer for Lytham, mainly granted on the basis of world rankings and order of merit placings. Unlike Wimbledon, though, there is no such thing as a wild card. Indeed, had Goran Ivanisevic been a golfer ranked No 125 in the world, he would have had to qualify.

Ever since exemptions for the Open were introduced – before 1963 everyone had to qualify, including the defending champion – the inflexible nature of qualification has been contentious. That someone with as high a profile as Woosnam could miss his first Championship in 18 years does not do the game or the spectators and sponsors any good. But this year, a new aspect of qualification has added to the gripes.

Due to the demands of television and sponsors, for the first time the Scottish Open ends today, a Sunday, rather than yesterday. The traditional Saturday finish was designed to allow professionals to buzz down to qualifying after the end of play. Not surprisingly, the new arrangement has been greeted with a hail of boos from the players who are faced with a tough dilemma. Must they forsake playing at Loch Lomond, in one of the Tour's most prestigious events, to qualify for the one event that probably made them take up golf in the first place?

Golf being a profession, most chose to play at Loch Lomond and take their chances on gaining one of the 15 Open places up for grabs on its boggy, boggy banks. Eight of those will come from the mini order of merit, which runs from the Volvo PGA in May to the end of the Scottish. And the next seven best finishers at Loch Lomond, who do not yet have an exemption, will also be given a berth.

The rest will miss out, now being unable to take the normal recourse to final qualifiying. As one pro, Gary Evans, said this weekend: "It seems a bit unfair as plenty of those guys out there should be at Lytham." The argument that the Open field will not be as strong as it might have been appears strong.

Evans is one of those who missed the Loch Lomond cut and headed south to play at one of four Lancashire qualifying courses – Fairhaven, Hillside, St Anne's Old Links and Southport & Ainsdale. Joining him will be Europe's Ryder Cup captain, Sam Torrance, his predecessor, Mark James, Open runners-up Costantino Rocca and Jean van de Velde and their fellow Ryder Cup players, Per-Ulrik Johansson, Jarmo Sandelin, Joakim Haeggman and Peter Baker. Craig Parry, David Frost and Jeff Maggert are the better-known names from the US Tour entering golf's version of The Weakest Link.

However, for the first time at Lytham since 1958 the name Nicklaus will not appear on the starter sheet. Big Jack swore he would never come back after his farewell at St Andrew's last year. And his son Gary joined the annual American withdrawal from qualification last week. It is a long way to come to be one of 384 chasing the remaining 32 places at Lytham.