FORMER Premier League star Peter Odemwingie is attempting to qualify for The Open.
And ex-Fulham and Wigan ace Jimmy Bullard is also giving it a shot.
Peter Odemwingie has taken to golf since hanging up his boots[/caption]
Odemwingie, 43, scored 37 Prem goals across spells at West Brom, Stoke and Cardiff.
His spell in English football is also fondly remembered for his attempt to join QPR during the January transfer window in 2013.
The Nigeria forward infamously turned up at the West London club’s Loftus Road home… even though no deal had been agreed.
Odemwingie has already enjoyed significant success since trading his football boots for golf clubs.
Having only taken up the sport in his 30s, the former footballer has qualified as a teaching professional and is hoping to compete on the Champions Tour after he turns 50.
For now, Odemwingie is one of nearly 2,000 players entering regional qualifying for The Open this week.
The former striker is taking part at the Enville Golf Club in the West Midlands.
Odemwingie told the PGA website last year: “I started playing just at the end of my West Brom days because a few of the boys played, and I could see the excitement they had for it.
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“They would go and play on a Tuesday after training, and they’d have their golf gear and be talking about it, but I couldn’t understand it because the golf vocabulary is so different to anything else.
“Then on one of the pre-season training trips with West Brom, Roy Hodgson took us to a golf resort and people were doing putting and playing full rounds on days off, so I was just passing by the range, and I thought I’d try and hit some balls.
“I was wearing slippers, but I hit a few, and I loved the sound and watching the ball fly.
“It was downhill so it carried further. I thought, ‘OK, there’s something in this’.”
Bullard, meanwhile, is also a keen golfer.
The 47-year-old has been recording his bid to reach The Open on his Golf Life YouTube channel.
Bullard also tried last year, but was unfortunately ruled out of qualifying with an injury.
He will take to the Rochester and Cobham Park course in Kent.
The final round of qualifying will begin on July 1, with only around 100 players set to reach that stage.
Jimmy Bullard is a keen golfer[/caption]
