Birdies or babies? LEADING OPEN GOLF STAR FACED BIRTH DILEMMA.

Byline: MELISSA THOMPSON

YOUR wife is due to give birth, and you're miles away trying to win a major competition.

Do you carry on playing or rush to her side when she goes into labour? It's the ultimate dilemma for sportsmen, and one faced yesterday by Britain's Open golf hopeful Ross Fisher. The 28-year-old pro, who had been leading the event but finished 13th, had a private jet on standby to fly him from the Turnberry course in Ayrshire to wife Jo's side in Surrey as she prepared to give birth to their first child - due yesterday.

He said he would have given up the top slot to be at her side: "I'm determined to do the right thing, and that means being at the birth of our first child. Family comes first. It's simple." Joanne, 23, who watched the Open at her parents home in Cheam in a pink top to match the one Ross wore, said: "I told him to stay and play golf, but he wanted to see our baby born."

What comes first? Sport or fatherhood? Here are the stars' views.

GO FOR THE GAME

JESS Robinson, 32, was due to give birth while her marathon runner husband Dan, 34, was competing at last year's Olympics She said: "When we found out our baby was due the day before Dan's race, the coincidence was a shock. But it didn't even enter my head that I would try and stop Dan from going. "I knew that Dan would have wanted to be there in a normal situation and if it had been a runof-the-mill race, I would've expected him to skip it.

"But because the Olympics was when it was, I wouldn't have stopped him. When you're married to a sportsman and you realise what they do is their job.

"You can't really say 'no, I want you by my side', especially after all the hours and hours of training they've put in. "You have to grin and bear it really and think, if that's what he's got to do, so be it.

"In the end, Jasper came 11 days after Dan came back from Beijing. But I'd imagined conver- sationI'd have with him when he was older to explain why his dad wasn't at the birth. "It's not as though I'd have to tell him his dad was down the pub. He was racing for his country. Sportspeople have a responsibility and there are some events they can't miss."

GO FOR THE CHILD

BRITISH golfer Nick Dougherty, 27, was also playing in the Open yesterday - and said that he would have dropped everything to be at the birth. He added: "This is a really unfortunate situation to be in, deciding whether to be there for the birth of your first child or contin-uing to play a competition once your partner has gone into labour.

"They're both extremely important events in a sportsman's life. "As far as I'm concerned, family should always come before sport. "No matter what the situation is, your priority should be to be there for your family. Golf and any other sport is only a game after all.

"As for me, I would give up the sport for my family in an instant.

"If my partner was pregnant I would definitely want to be there. Especially in Ross's case as he will only get one chance to see his first child come into the world.

"And as much as winning an Open is an amazing thing to achieve, Ross will get more chances to take part and compete in the future. "There will always be more competitions and there will be other opportunities to do well. But you'll never get to experience your first-born coming into the world.

"If you were playing an important competition and had to pull out you would feel bad. "But once labour starts none of that would matter."

CAPTION(S):

FAMILY Jess, Dan and baby Jasper DECISION Golfer Nick Dougherty THINK PINK Pregnant Jo wears matching colour to watch Ross