ORGANISERS of this weekend's Craigmillar Park Open have been hit by an unfortunate clash of events that has deprived the prestigious Capital tournament of Scotland's top players.
Eight players, including Scottish Amateur champion John Gallagher, are currently out in Valencia, where Scotland are taking on Spain in a two-day match starting on Friday.
Normally, the Craigmillar Park Open, the first counting event of the seaso
n for the Scottish Order of Merit, attracts the strongest of fields, as is reflected by a roll of honour that includes the likes of Nick Faldo, Andrew Oldcorn, Raymond Russell, Steven O'Hara, Marc Warren and Lloyd Saltman.
But the absence of so many internationalists - they also include the quartet that won the European Nations Championship at Sotogrande last weekend – has definitely diluted the 2008 tournament.
Since his triumph 12 months ago, Saltman, of course, has joined the paid ranks and, though there are four former winners in the field - Roger Roper, Scott Knowles, Craig Watson and Gary Tough - the likelihood is that a new name will be added to the trophy on Sunday night.
One of the leading contenders is likely to be Hayston's Paul Betty, who claimed the Scottish Champion of Champions crown last weekend at Leven, where the traditional curtain-raiser was cut to 36 holes due to the weather.
Former Scottish champion Glenn Campbell will also be hoping to make his presence felt, while a strong Lothians contingent is spearheaded by Craigielaw duo Mark Hillson and Shaun McAllister.
Another Craigielaw challenger, Zack Saltman, and Colville Park's Paul O'Hara will both be out to follow in the footsteps of siblings.
Saltman would make it a fantastic double if he could succeed his older brother as the winner this weekend, while O'Hara will be out to claim a title his brother, European Tour star Steven, claimed in 2001.
Sponsored by Golf Finance and Parsaver Golf, play starts at 7am on Saturday, with the leading 30 players and those tied for that position qualifying for the final two rounds on Sunday.
The full article contains 344 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
