THE North-East's sole representative in The Open Championship, Kenneth Ferrie, may be regarded as a rank outsider in most quarters but he is in the form of his life going into the showpiece at Royal Troon.

The Ashington-born golfer is quoted at as much as 250/1, along with the likes of Paul Broadhurst, Barry Lane and Andrew Oldcorn, to get his hands on the Claret Jug come Sunday evening.

Odds of 66/1 are available for Ferrie even to finish as the top Brit and perhaps they are a little generous when you consider how well he has been playing on the European Tour this season.

The former British Boys champion, who can boast his Spanish Open success last year as his one Tour victory to date, has failed to win in 2004.

But from 18 competitions this season he has only missed the cut on just five occasions and he has earned a healthy living in the process.

Ferrie, who pocketed around £20,000 for finishing 28th in the European Open at Ireland's K Club last month, is on course to pass £1m in prize money and endorsements, particularly after his 16th place finish in the Scottish Open last weekend.

And, after more guidance from Matfen Hall's director of golf, John Harrison, Ferrie insists he is delighted to be finally performing well on a regular basis and he would love to see that continue at Troon, starting today.

"What I am more happy about this year is the number of cuts I am making - 75 per cent of them as against 50 per cent in previous years," said Ferrie, who is in his third year on the Tour and is ranked 74th in the Volvo Order of Merit.

"And of those I have missed, three of them have been by one shot and the other by two shots. I'm starting to achieve consistency and that is giving me more confidence."

Ferrie, who has recently bought a luxury apartment in Newcastle, earned the right to play in the 133rd Open by shooting 67-68 in the qualifier at Sunningdale, where Colin Montgomerie could only book his place via a play-off.

The North-East's leading light will tee off in the opening round of this year's Championship this morning alongside Andre Stolz and Martin Erlandsson.

But he has been handed a difficult draw tomorrow, when his group is one of the last to tee off at 3.48pm, when many fans become restless and start to make noise as they begin to walk home.

However, Ferrie, whose brother Iain is also a professional golfer on the Challenge Tour, said: "Sometimes the draw can work for or against you.

"It really is the luck of the draw in the Open and you just have to get on with it."

Published: 15/07/2004