British Open qualifiers

DIVOTS

The International Final Qualifying (IFQ) for the 2005 British Open Championship will once again be played on five continents. The Asian qualifiers will be played at the Saujana Golf and Country Club in Malaysia on April 6 and 7. The other qualifiers will be held in Berkshire (England), Cape Town (South Africa), Melbourne (Australasia) and New Jersey (US).

While the European and the US qualifiers will be held in June, the Cape Town and Melbourne events will be held in January. Each competition will have a maximum field of 120. The players will compete over 36 holes at the Old Course at St Andrews.

Els on author Annika

Ernie Els says he is looking forward to read Annika Sorenstam's new book Golf Annika's Way, released last month. "I'll read this," said Els. "She does a lot of good things with her swing. Her basics are excellent." Sorenstam wrote the instructional book with the help of swing coach Henri Reis, Swedish Golf Federation coach Pia Nilsson, trainer Kai Fusser and the editors of Golf magazine.

Caltex Masters

The Caltex Masters, presented by Carlsberg Singapore, will return to Laguna National Golf & Country Club for the fourth successive occasion next year, with players competing for an increased prize fund of $1 million.

The event, co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tours, will take place on January 27-30, 2005. Current World No. 1 Vijay Singh won the inaugural tournament at Singapore Island Country Club in 2001 before Arjun Atwal claimed the title on the first visit to Laguna National in 2002.

US Open 2011

The Congressional Country Club in Washington will host the 2011 US Open tournament. The Congressional, the venue for South Africa's Ernie Els' 1997 US Open title, also hosted the event in 1964.

Old Course Hotel on sale

The Old Course Hotel at St Andrews is being sold for roughly $65 million to a partnership that includes Herb Kohler, owner of Whistling Straits, the venue of the PGA Championships this year.

Bogeyman