Heath Slocum will be teeing it up at this week's PGA Viking Classic in Mississippi rather than at Royal St George's.
American turns down chance to play at Sandwich
Heath Slocum will be teeing it up at this week's PGA Viking Classic in Mississippi rather than at Royal St George's.
The American has turned down the chance to compete in the Open in favour of a bid to win a third tour title at Annandale Golf Club.
With a first prize of £405,000 on offer - £30,000 more than for finishing third at Sandwich - and a field missing the vast majority of the world's best players, it is perhaps an understandable reaction.
With Scott Verplank declining the invitation to travel to England as first reserve for the Open, compatriot Ricky Barnes assumes that position and Slocum moved up to second reserve.
However, the 37-year-old from Louisiana has decided to stay closer to home.
At least Slocum, who missed the cut at the Masters but was 11th in the US Open this year, is actually in the field at Annandale, unlike Britain's Greg Owen.
Owen, who became only the sixth person in the history of the event to make an albatross in the Open at Royal Lytham in 2001, is only 10th reserve.
The 39-year-old from Mansfield has made more than £2million on the US Tour, but lost his card at the end of last season and in 10 events on the second-tier Nationwide Tour in 2011 has won just £35,000.
Another Open connection comes in the shape of Chris Di Marco, who was runner-up to Tiger Woods at Hoylake in 2006, the year after losing a play-off to the former world number one at Augusta.
Since then, Di Marco has suffered a number of injury problems.
