The Open will play host to two former elite-level footballers
Former Cardiff City star Peter Odemwingie is now a PGA professional. (Image: Iain Findlay – Birmingham Mail. )
Two ex-Premier League stars, including a former Cardiff City player, have qualified for The Open.
Ex-Cardiff striker Peter Odemwingie and former Hull City star Jimmy Bullard are among the 2,000 players who will bid to qualify for a spot at Royal Portrush, with regional qualifying taking place across 15 venues throughout the UK and Ireland this week. Just 100 of those will make it through for the final round of qualifying on July 1. Odemwingie, of course, played for Cardiff in the 2013/2014 Premier League season before moving on to Stoke City.
The Open is open to everyone, hence the name, and you can enter with a 0.4 handicap or lower for a £200 fee. There will be a number of amateurs on display alongside Odemwingie and Bullard.
Former West Bromwich Albion man Odemwingie, 43, teed off at 12.36pm at Enville Golf Club near Dudley outside of Birmingham on Monday, with Bullard getting started at Rochester and Cobham Park in Kent. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community.
Odemwingie only picked up golf in his early thirties, but has since qualified as a PGA professional.
Speaking to the PGA website last year, Odemwingie said: “My eyes are on the senior tour in the future because I definitely know there is a player in me.”
The former footballer would need to be at least 50 years old to qualify for the elite seniors tour.
“This game offers us longevity and if you stay healthy you can play for a long time, as someone like Gary Player shows,” continued Odemwingie.
“Hopefully when I’m old with a lot of grey hairs I’ll be able to tell a pretty cool story about my time playing golf.”
The winner of The Open wins The Claret Jug and is awarded the title of ‘Champion Golfer of the Year’. The likes of Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, Rory McIlroy and Seve Ballesteros have claimed it over the years.
The Open’s official event follows qualifying at the Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland between July 13 and 20.
American golfer Xander Schauffele won the 2024 edition, where he also picked up £2.38 million in prize money from a £13.1 million purse.
As a player, Odemwingie played for a variety of top football clubs. Being born in the then-Soviet Union (Uzbekistan), he came through the academy at CSKA Moscow before starting his senior professional career at Nigerian club Bendel Insurance.
His ascent in European football began at West Bromwich Albion after signing from Lokomotiv Moscow. He was a reliable goal scorer for The Baggies before moving on to Cardiff for £2.25 million. A failed move to Queen’s Park Rangers resulted in his move to Wales, after he fell out of favour with West Brom boss Steve Clarke.
Following his move to Stoke, which was not a success, he had stints with Bristol City, Rotherham United and finally Madura United, an Indonesian outfit, where he finished his career.
