Ballyliffin are aiming to stage a bigger and better Donegal Irish Women's Open next year and again in 2000. And the club's ambitions will be greatly boosted by a major hotel development in the area, confirmed over the weekend.

In a £2 million project, the local Strand Hotel is to have an additional 40 bedrooms completed by June of next year. "This has been facilitated by a franchise arrangement we have entered into with the American hotel chain, Day's Inn," said hotel director, Denis Bradley.

He added: "The deal will give us a marvellous marketing outlet. And with increased accommodation, we can strengthen our links with the Ballyliffin Golf Club."

For their part, the club displayed remarkable resourcefulness in staging the tournament at what was effectively only three weeks' notice. Naturally, there was acute disappointment about the manner in which the final round was blown away by gale-force winds, but despite those problems with the weather, the venture was clearly a success.

"It has given us strong hopes for the future," said club secretary Karl O'Doherty. "Needless to say we're very grateful to the Minister, Jim McDaid, and to Bord Failte for pushing this year's tournament in our direction."

Then he added: "But if Bord Failte are not in a position to repeat their sponsorship to a significant degree next year, the club and the tournament organisers would be more than pleased to elevate the event to a height we feel it deserves. We have made a good start and we're confident we can go on to better things."

Apart from Sunday's gales, there was disappointment for the organisers in the fact that only 70 competitors entered from an anticipated complement of 120. "This was due largely to the delay in confirming the actual staging of the event," said Graeme Marchbank, director of operations for the ELPGA Tour.

He went on: "I don't believe that fears about the players' security was a factor, though there was understandable concern after the Omagh bombing. Some of the players had to be educated as to the location of Ballyliffin in that they found it difficult to understand that a northern Irish club was in the Republic and not in Northern Ireland."

In the event, they arrived by a variety of routes. Some flew into Derry Airport from Manchester and Glasgow, others flew into Dublin and drove north from there, while the majority flew into Belfast and were taken onwards by coach.

They seemed to be delighted with local hospitality, particularly the 12 players who were accommodated free in the homes of club members. And their assessment of the Glashedy Links was entirely positive, even if Laura Davies repeatedly complained about the difficulty of the rough.

"The overall publicity the tournament received has helped the club enormously," added Doherty. "There is also the fact that we have been prompted to raise the quality of both our courses to a standard that will become the norm for the future."

As it happened, the tournament came at a critical time in the Government's ongoing policy of promoting Ireland as a golfing destination through the staging of important events.

As the Minister put it: "Beginning this month and continuing until the year 2004, an extensive and aggressive marketing programme is planned to coincide with the lead-in period for the Ryder Cup. This is aimed at gaining maximum exposure for Irish golf in the widest range of media possible."

Meanwhile, by finishing fourth in the tournament, won by Sweden's Sophie Gustafson, Aideen Rogers has moved up to 58th in the Order of Merit with earnings of £7,365 for the season. This is a significant leap from last season, when she languished at 104th and had to go back to the qualifying school.