Open snippets

Alastair - at work.

Denham Golf Club nine handicapper, Alastair Mackenzie, reckons he's got the best job in the world this week - keeping 125,000 thirsty golf fans refreshed at The Open Championship at Sandwich.

He's beverage manager for Sodexho Prestige (which has the contract to supply food and drink) so gets paid to pursue his passion.

And after a hectic day he'll usually unwind with a bottle of fine wine - in all in the name of research!

"This is my 10th Open - and it's the highlight of my working year," says Alastair. "I've met some of the biggest names in golf including Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie and John Daly and for a golf fan like me, it's fantastic to be involved in the event."

During the week - and if the weather maintains its high temperatures - Alastair and his team will serve up 100,000 pints of beer, 4,000 bottles of wine, 2,500 bottles of champagne, 40,000 soft drinks and 20,000 bottles of water.

Practice rounds in temperatures approaching 90 degrees were getting a little silly, according to some players.

With players checking yardages, putting to several imaginary pin positions and stopping off to sign autographs for the throngs of fans, some rounds were taking nearly six hours.

One group, which included Brad Faxon, Chris Di Marco, Jay Haas and Jesper Parnevik, suddenly became a fiveball when they were joined by Sergio Garcia. But no one seemed to mind, even the supposedly regimented R&A officials.

"Everyone here appreciates golf," Faxon said. "They're not as picky about the other stuff, like hotels and amenities. You come here with a greater appreciation of the golf."

Nineteen countries will be represented when the Open kicks off tomorrow morning - including India's Jyoti Randhawa and Austrian Markus Brier

Forty-six American players claimed spots, while the United Kingdom had 35 players to defend its home-country advantage.

TaylorMade's distinctive bags.

The patch also includes the number five to signify Sandwich as one of the French-named Cinque Ports. the region in which Royal St. George's is located and 8624 which, on a telephone keypad, corresponds to the letters TMAG - TaylorMade-adidas Golf.

Hats (£14.99) include a woven tab featuring a broken bottle and ball inscribed '1949' - the year Bobby Locke won The Open Championship here when rival Harry Bradshaw had to played his ball from inside a broken bottle and droped two penalty shots.

Sounds to me, like those obscure clues in 3-2-1 game show!

Players using the bags - which will be auctioned for the Golf Foundation - include Fred Couples, Mike Weir, Darren Clarke, Rich Beem, Justin Rose, K.J. Choi, Sergio Garcia, Kenny Perry, Peter Lonard, Paul McGinley and Tom Lehman.

Rising star Nick Dougherty has become Youth Ambassador for the Golf Foundation supporting grass roots golf for children launching the new Junior golf Passport at The Open.

"It's important to make young children aware that golf is a great game and that the work of the Golf Foundation will give them more opportunities to participate," he says.