FORMER MINISTER for finance and EU commissioner Charlie McCreevy will tee off with Hollywood actor Michael Douglas at the JP McManus pro-am, which starts at the Adare Manor Golf resort today.
A host of amateur golfers and celebrities will join some of the top golfers in the world at the exclusive Co Limerick golf resort over the next two days for the charity golf tournament.
All eyes will be on world number one Tiger Woods, who will tee off at 1.30pm today.
He is part of a team which includes businessman JP Magnier.
Woods’s flight was due to arrive at Shannon airport early this morning; he will play a second round of golf tomorrow at 8am before he returns to the US.
It is the fifth year of the JP McManus golf pro-am, which has raised €55 million for charities in the midwest since 1990.
Doubts had been raised over the participation of Woods following a stormy time in his personal life, but the man behind the charity golf tournament always remained confident the world’s number one golfer would travel to Adare.
“I always felt when he’d said the first day he was going to come that he would be here,” Mr McManus said recently.
Mr McManus paid tribute at the weekend to all of the golf professionals who were taking part. “It’s a big ask and none of them get paid. We pay no appearance fees. We try to explain to them as best we can what we’re trying to achieve here,” he said.
“The fact that there are no deductions for any expenses or anything like that – that every shilling collected goes to charity – is a big selling point. The pros are delighted to give something back.”
The picturesque village of Adare was a hive of activity over the weekend as locals celebrated the Adare Village Festival. The skies were almost as busy as the roads as helicopters ferried some of the VIP guests to Adare Manor ahead of today’s golf tournament.
Among those spotted enjoying lunch at the golf club on Saturday was singer Andrea Corr, whose husband Brett Desmond will tee off today beside actor Hugh Grant.
Mr Desmond’s parents Dermot and Pat Desmond were also spotted in the golf club on Saturday, along with Michael Flatley.
Mr McManus was also on site overseeing the last-minute preparations while his daughter Sue Ann was busy preparing for the tournament draw, which took place on Saturday evening.
Almost 30,000 entry caps have been sold for the two-day charity event, which will see 12 of the world’s top-15 ranked players on the greens at Adare, including US Open winner Graeme McDowell.
The golfers will be joined by a list of celebrities including film stars Samuel L Jackson, Aidan Quinn and Kyle MacLachlan, and pop stars Westlife. Football father and son Harry and Jamie Redknapp are also in Adare.
Just a small number of entry caps for the two-day golf event remain on sale. The cost of a cap is €50 and for children under 16 they are free.
Shops selling the remaining caps in Limerick and Cork can be found on jpmcmanusproam. com