Shaun Murphy won the snooker world title in 2005.
Former world snooker champion Shaun Murphy will try to qualify for next month’s Open Golf Championship at Royal Portrush.
Murphy, who won snooker’s top prize in 2005, will temporarily swap the baize for the links later this month when he plays in Open qualifying at County Louth.
The 36-year-old has a scratch handicap in golf which means he can play in the regional qualifier in Ireland on June 24.
Online gambling firm Betway have priced Murphy at 147-1 to qualify for the competition, and the snooker player admits his chances of progressing to the final stage of qualifying are slim.
“It is all a bit tongue in cheek and a bit of a laugh,” he told BBC Sport.
“The one thing I do have going for me is that I already have a full-time job. Golf isn’t my livelihood. Relative to the other players I will be playing against, it doesn’t really matter to me if I win or lose.
“I am just trying to have a good day out. I could knock it round in anything from 68 to 108.
“It is very hard to maintain a scratch handicap while having a full-time snooker career, a young family and all the rest of it.
“I won’t be off scratch for much longer so I thought I should take my opportunity while I am still eligible.”
Murphy has previously caddied for a friend in Open Championship qualifying.
He said: “That was a fantastic experience. I thought it would be nice to have a go myself.
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — The second round of the Australian PGA championship was washed out Friday due to rain and an unplayable course and the tournament has been shortened to 54 holes.
Officials for the Australasian PGA Tour and European Tour event made the announcement more than five hours after the first group was scheduled to tee off at Royal Queensland.
There had been about 25 millimeters (one inch) of rain overnight Thursday, adding to the 200 millimeters (eight inches) that had hit the course earlier in the week. Rain began falling heavily again on the course as the decision was made to abandon Friday's play and reduce the tournament to three rounds.
Organizers were hampered by the fact that Queensland state, where the tournament is being played, does not operate on daylight time, meaning play beyond 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. was not possible.
The weather forecast for the weekend was for improved conditions.
Australian 22-year-old Elvis Smylie, son of former tennis pro Liz Smylie, led after the first round with a 6-under 65. He had a one-stroke lead over French player Victor Perez, Australian Matias Sanchez, Switzerland's Joel Girrbach and Chile’s Cristobal Del Solar, who birdied four of his last five holes on a soggy course on Thursday afternoon.
Local drawcards and major winners Cameron Smith and Jason Day, in his first Australian event in seven years, were two shots behind Smylie after 67s.
Min Woo Lee, who won last year's tournament at Royal Queensland, shot 68 and was three strokes off the lead. Lee, Day and Smith were in the same group Thursday.
The Australian PGA is the first event of the 2025 European Tour season.
Many of the same players will travel to Melbourne next week for the Australian Open, also on the European Tour, which is being played concurrently with the Women's Australian Open at famed sandbelt courses Kingston Heath and Victoria.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Min Woo Lee of Australia, left, Justin Rose of England, centre, and Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark prepare to plays their second shot at the 3rd hole during the second round of Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
