A DECISION by the Royal and Ancient to stage Regional Qualifying at Co Louth GC for next year's British Open, holds major implications for Irish golf. It means that the championship itself, the most important event in world golf, could be staged in the Republic of Ireland.

"We view the Open Championship as a world event," said Duncan Weir, of the R and A Championship Committee. "And we have always looked upon Ireland as one nation as far as golf in concerned."

As for the choice of Co Louth, Weir said: "This is a natural extension of what we have been doing in Britain in recent years. Regional Qualifying was started in 1977 and has now become a significant undertaking."

He went on: "The fact is that we would like to see more Irish players taking part and the obvious way of achieving this is to make the process cheaper and more convenient for them. Co Louth is a fine links which suits our requirements admirably."

Its selection came as a complete surprise to the Baltray club. "There were no overtures on our part," said secretary/ manager Michael Delany last night. "Our first knowledge of it was when the request came in a letter from the R and A a few weeks ago. Naturally we're delighted to accommodate them."

In a broader context, there is clearly no impediment to the actual Open Championship itself being staged in the Republic. And the obvious choice would be Portmarnock, which had a highly successful staging of the Walker Cup in 1991. In fact it played host to the British Amateur Championship in 1949, when Max McCreadie triumphed.

Meanwhile, Co Louth is one of 14 venues chosen for regional qualifying next year, when the championship takes place at Royal Birkdale. An average of 120 players is anticipated at each of these venues, which include such prominent British clubs as Glenbervie, Hankley Common, Beau Desert and South Herts.

The British Open was staged once in Ireland - in 1951 at Royal Portrush where Max Faulkner captured the title and a promising young professional from the West of Ireland, Christy O'Connor, made his debut.

There has already been speculation on the event returning to Ireland in 2001.