Former European Tour player Stephen Browne will make his return to competitive action in the CityNorth Hotels sponsored East of Ireland Amateur Open at County Louth — 13 years after finishing fourth behind Ken Kearney at the famed Baltray links.

The two-time Challenge Tour winner and former European Amateur champion from Hermitage, now 40, retired from the professional game after seven years at the end of the 2008 season and is now reinstated as an amateur with a handicap of -0.8.

With some of the leading players in the country opting to skip the Bank Holiday weekend trip to Co Louth, family man Browne may well have a chance of a decent finish though there is a still a top class field with Greystones' Paul Dunne back from the University of Alabama Birmingham to defend the title.

While West of Ireland champion Jack Hume, Close champion Cormac Sharvin, Dermot McElroy and Headfort's Rory McNamara all unavailable, Browne is just one of many quality players in the draw for what promises to be another highly competitive week. The cut off for entry fell at 0.6.

East of Ireland Amateur Open Championship, Co Louth, May 31-June 2