David Higgins watched his Open dream blown away at Turnberry.

Rory McIlroy curbed his volcanic instincts to dig deep and survive the cut at Turnberry.

The sometimes hot-headed Ulsterman, 20, looked ready to explode as he spiralled to five over for the day after just ten holes.

Ailsa Craig - the island consists entirely of a volcanic plug of an extinct volcano.But he kept his cool to add a four over par 74 to his opening 69 and keep his hopes alive of becoming the youngest winner of the Claret Jug for more than 100 years.

Believing he is now a cooler customer than ever, McIlroy said: “This time last year or 18 months ago I would have thrown it away and missed the cut. I am happy the way I hung in and stayed around and it was nice to make a couple of birdies on the way in.

Padraig Harrington is expecting a rough ride in next week’s Open at Turnberry.

And that’s why he insists that the €26,000 Ladbrokes.com Irish PGA Championship at The European Club is more important than it’s ever been to his chances of lifting the Claret Jug.

TurnberryIreland’s triple major winner was shocked to find “the thickest rough I have ever seen” on a two-day trip to the Open venue on Sunday and Monday.

But he’ll face something similar at Pat Ruddy’s County Wicklow links and reckons it is still not too late to boost his confidence and sharpen up his misfiring putter before he bids for a hat-trick of Open titles last achieved by Peter Thomson in 1956.

David Higgins grabbed a dream place in the Open at Turnberry and immediately set his sights on giving Padraig Harrington a run for his money in the Irish PGA.

Royal County Down's Jerry Scullion was one of six Irishman to come through Regional Qualifying for the Open at Royal Dublin.

Padraig Harrington confessed that he needs a war of attrition at Turnberry if he is to complete a hat-trick of Open wins.

Open champion Padraig Harrington will be roared on by an army of more than 11,000 Irish fans when he bids for a hat-trick of Claret Jugs at Turnberry.

Turnberry’s Ailsa Course has undergone a number of adjustments designed to ensure it continues to challenge modern professionals in the 2009 Open Championship.