PREVIEW: European Open

The Tour makes a pit-stop in England this week for the highly coveted European Open which is staged at the London Golf Club, Kent. And as a tribute to this excellent tournament, a prolific field has turned out in force.

A second place in France gives Colin Montgomerie the momentum required to have a good go at defending his title and becoming only the third person to do so, but the likes of Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia will have something to say about that.

Harrington will be looking to hit form in time for his Open defence in a few weeks time but his Spanish rival will be looking to avenge his late crumble at Carnoustie last year when he surrendered the Claret Jug to the Irishman.

Another who will more than fancy his chances is national treasure Darren Clarke. The popular Brit has a great track record at the European Open, including a win in 2001 and is also the proud owner of several feats, such as the lowest ever round in the tournament history (a 12-under 60) and the biggest 54-hole lead (Clarke lead the field by six shots in 1999), but his missed cut in France last week will not inspire confidence.

Another player destined for greatness is Robert Karlsson. The Swede grabbed yet another top-20 finish in France last week and after a series of fantastic performances this season, looks to be a real threat to have his name engraved on the prestigious trophy come Sunday.

But players like Bradley Dredge will be out to see that doesn't happen.

The Welshman is determined to make Nick Faldo's side for Valhalla and doesn't want to rest his hopes on a wildcard pick. Dredge told NCG that it is these sort of events that he needs to be involved in to get back into the top-50 and he will be out to secure his spot as only the sixth Welshman to get into the side.

With plenty of points on offer and only 15 events remaining, don't forget to make your changes. The deadline, as always, is 5pm Wednesday.

Thw full list of players is as follows**:


Pool A
Justin Rose
Padraig Harrington
Sergio Garcia
Darren Clarke
Paul McGinley
Oliver Wilson
Thomas Levet
Alexander Noren
Ignacio Garrido

Pool B
Niclas Fasth
Ian Poulter
Richard Sterne
Robert Karlsson
Soren Hansen
Rory McIlroy
Johan Edfors
David Howell

Pool C
Richard Green
Nick Dougherty
Peter Hanson
Bradley Dredge
Damien McGrane
Peter Lawrie
Hennie Otto

Pool D
Colin Montgomerie
Charl Schwartzel
Simon Dyson
Steve Webster
Mikko Ilonen
Richard Finch
Graeme Storm

Pool E
Louis Oosthuizen
Jyoti Randhawa
Jeev Milka Singh
James Kingston
Graeme McDowell
Ross Fisher
Ross McGowan
Raphael Jacquelin

** Please note that this field of players is strictly based on those who have entered the tournament, any withdrawals are out of our control and will result in zero points for that player