When Harry Bradshaw and Christy O'Connor Snr triumphed in 1958, it was another player who did the main report for newspapers in these islands. In the absence of travelling scribes, Peter Alliss, who was then a member of the England team in Mexico City, was employed as on-the-spot reporter by the Daily Express.
Thirty nine years on, Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley were telling the world's electronic and print media here yesterday, about the inspirational impact O'Connor had had on their golfing careers. "We play with Christy in Links Society outings during the winter months," explained Harrington to American writers, who were anxious to hear more.
It was a wonderful experience for two fine players - and they enjoyed it immensely. And the Americans were even more pleased when McGinley singled out Tom Watson as his favourite golfer - a highly appropriate choice as it happened, given his win in the Dunlop Phoenix Open in Japan at the weekend.
As for McGinley and Harrington, they succeeded mainly because they were extremely wellmatched players who were comfortable in each other's company. The fact that they're not close friends, also helped in creating a competitive edge between them.
On numerous occasions, one could see the shadow of a smile flicker across their faces, as if they were sharing a private joke. And all the while there was a clear emphasis on playing one's own game. "I felt fairly comfortable throughout," said McGinley. "I was trying my best to look comfortable," said Harrington.
McGinley, who is five years older than his partner, knew Harrington mainly as a neighbour in Rathfarnham in Dublin, where both were born and reared. But the age difference meant that they never really played together in their youth. "I first saw Padraig as a golfer probably when he was 15," said his partner.
Of the weekend's challenge, Harrington said: "While mentally supporting each other, we concentrated on doing our own thing. The fact that both of us where playing well, made things easier. Either way, we resisted telling each other anything out on the course."
Interestingly, their relationship was very similar to that of O'Connor and Bradshaw, as the Brad described it to me. As with McGinley and Harrington, they wouldn't have considered themselves close friends. Bradshaw was much closer to Fred Daly throughout his career but the competitive edge was there, yielding success in Mexico City.
It was McGinley's third win in the last six weeks, coming after victory in the Smurfit Irish Professional Championship and the Oki Pro-Am in Madrid. "This was way ahead of any tournament win I've had," he said.
Harrington also saw their success as "obviously better than a normal win." He explained: "For 10 years as an amateur, all of my golf was based on team events. Now, after only two years as a professional, I have won one of the game's most prized events. It's phenomenal."
In response to an American question, McGinley then went on to highlight the quality of European golf. "Our results in team events like the Ryder Cup and now this, prove the point," he said. "We may not have the best courses in the world, nor the highest prize money, but I think we have proved that we know how to compete. Europe breeds tough competitors, that's for sure."
Harrington, whose European Tour earnings of £388,982 for eighth position in the Order of Merit, picked up some useful cash over the weekend, especially in view of his forthcoming marriage to Caroline Gregan on December 6th. With a 15-under-par aggregate of 273 he shared fifth place with Davis Love in the money from the International Trophy table.
This earned him a bonus of $5,000 to go with the main prize of $200,000. "Obviously the recognition is nice, but this is a team event - that's all that concerned me," he said. McGinley, on 272 - 16 under par - collected $15,000 for fifth place.
