IN BRIEF : U.S. Open Urged to Bar McNulty

An anti-apartheid group has asked the host of the U.S. Open to exclude South African golfer Mark McNulty from competing at this year’s event.

In a letter to William Thaney, president of Oak Hill Country Club, which is hosting the 89th U.S. Open June 15-18, the Rochester Anti-Apartheid Coalition protested the exemption McNulty has received to qualify for the United States Golf Assn. event.

“This is a violation of the United Nations Culture Boycott,” Rob Sandgrund, the organizer of a Rochester social action group, said. “We don’t want (McNulty playing at Oak Hill). It is de facto support of apartheid.”

Allen Brewer and Jerry Stahl, tournament co-chairmen, who received copies of the coalition’s letter, said McNulty’s admission to the U.S. Open does not mean Oak Hill supports or condones South Africa’s official policy of racial segregation.

McNulty is a member of the PGA European Tour. He plays in the United States only in tournaments where he is exempt from qualifying, such as The Masters, the Open and the PGA Championship. McNulty played in last year’s Open at the Country Club in Brookline, Mass. He finished in a tie for 17th place.