[Seanmx]

No doubt, but why spend money foolishly. Especially if it is a two day event (MC) with another event to prepare for next week.

Pay ALL the taxes, your caddie, travel, hotel expenses, past bills and take care of the family, add to savings- it adds up against that winning check. I'm sure everyone in Carnoustie isn’t offering discount the week of the Open. Who does at any seasonal event? Weekly expenses for the Tour are not cheap. In fact even if you earn a card, you have to prove to the Tour that you can afford the everyday expenditures.

Woody is free to make any decision he wants – I think he made the right one given he thinks might do poorly.

Do I think money is the number one reason? No, but going to play the Open is about 5-10 times the cost of a regular event depending on how you do it.

True it would cost him a few bob to play and it is not free to play on the tour.

But wouldn’t it be nice to think that just four times a year that they could play for the love of the game in the major championships. In the case of the open there is the potential to get their name on a trophy next to Tom Morris, Harry Vardon, Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Tiger Woods and many more in between. Now what could be sweeter than that?

Anyway its none of my business where Woody Austin choses to play or not play. As an Irishman playing in The Open Championship was a boyhood dream of mine and its pretty hard for me to understand someone giving up the chance to play in it.

PS

It was nice to see Tom Pernice fly out in the last minure when we was promoted to first alternate. He got his place in the field when Olazabal had to withdraw through injury