Philip Reidwonders why there are not more Irish players featuring in the world's top 100

In a way, it may seem churlish (or potentially mad) to suggest that there is a crisis, of the full-blown or even mini variety, in Irish golf. After all, as the two men's international professional tours - the PGA European Tour and the US Tour - swing into real action, Ireland can currently boast having the British Open champion, Pádraig Harrington, and the hottest young player in the game, Rory McIlroy, in its armoury. Expectations, you might say, have never been greater.

And yet, and yet!!! Underneath, there is a soft belly. As Benjamin Disraeli once observed, "there are lies, damned lies and statistics". But the bottom line in observing the latest official world rankings is that the statistics don't lie in this case. The simple, stark fact is Ireland - even allowing for Harrington's major achievement and the rich promise of McIlroy - isn't delivering the depth of challenge on tour that you'd expect from a country so immersed in the sport.

Of Ireland's top five players in the world rankings, although fourth-placed McIlroy (228th in the world) should be pardoned given that he is a newcomer, Harrington is the exception rather than the rule when it comes to winning. Savouring success, it seems, has become a rarity for Ireland's tour players; and, arguably, the real concern is at the levels below the top-five where there is a true sense of underachievement.

Harrington's victory in the British Open was his second of the 2007 season on the European Tour, coming on top of the Irish Open win at Adare Manor; but visits to the winner's enclosure are now rare for Ireland's other big guns: Graeme McDowell's last win on tour came in the Italian Open in 2004; Paul McGinley's last tournament victory was the Volvo Masters in 2005, while Darren Clarke's (who finished a fine fourth in South Africa yesterday) last big triumph was the NEC Invitational in 2003.

Indeed, as of now, Ireland can boast just one player - eighth-placed Harrington - in the world's top 100, which is all a stark contrast to just a few short years ago when Ireland had three players (Harrington, Clarke and McGinley) in the top 25 and another, McDowell, in the top 50. Now, you've to go all the way down to 229th place (to Clarke) to find the fifth-ranked Irish player in the world rankings.

Ireland's current plight is a contrast to that of England. Back in 2000, at the turn of the millennium, England had just one player - Lee Westwood - in the top 100 in the world. It was a particularly astonishing statistic given the size of the country, the history of golf there and the number of golfers in England. It was to prove an aberration, and the world has since righted itself.

At the moment, England has the leading ranked European in the world (Justin Rose at sixth) and their top-five players are all ranked inside the top 25. Some transformation, eh?

Apart from McIlroy, at the ripe old age of 18, coming on board to join the professional ranks after an honour-laden amateur career, there is no indication that a similar transformation can be expected from the Irish professional golfers.

Obviously, Ireland doesn't have the same numbers as England (a simple fact of geography and population) on tour . . . but, still, there is a sense that those who are out there are just not delivering as much as they should.

Peter Lawrie, Gary Murphy and Damien McGrane comprise what is effectively the next tier of Irish golfers on tour. All are seasoned, but have really fallen into what is known as the "journeyman" category.

Lawrie, who was the first Irishman to win the Henry Cotton Trophy when "rookie of the year" in 2003, has amassed almost €2 million in prize money since claiming his full European Tour card but has not yet won a tournament. Neither have Murphy, now in his sixth straight season with a full tour card, nor McGrane, who is in his fifth full year on tour, managed to find the formula for winning.

At least Messrs Lawrie, Murphy and McGrane have found a niche - and good livings - on tour. The real mystery of Ireland's failure to find strength-in-depth on tour is to be found at the next level down where players who dominated as amateurs have struggled in the professional ranks, moving between full tour and Challenge Tour status or even the third-tier EuroPro circuit in their attempts to make the grade.

Many of these fledgling professionals have received financial backing from the Team Ireland Golf Trust, which was set up as a public-private partnership to assist young players in making the transition to the professional ranks while also aiming to increase Ireland's profile as a golf tourism destination by having players "fly the flag" on the international stage.

"Are we concerned? We have to be," admitted Pádraig Ó hUigín, the chairman and inspiration behind the trust. "You have to wonder why players who were amateur champions of Europe, who were British amateur champions and Walker Cup players are not making it while other people who have the same history are making it."

In fact, a review has recently been conducted into why many players had not gone on to fulfil their true potential. And while Ó hUigín insisted the trust had been "very successful" in helping players in going for their tour cards, one area that is being considered is whether a greater emphasis should be place on contributing part of the grants towards coaching.

In all, over 1.75 million has been handed over by the trust to fledgling players in the past eight years and, as part of its support package, all golfers can also avail of the top-class facilities at the GUI's National Academy at Carton House.

When, last April, the latest cheques (totalling €205,000 among 15 professionals) were handed out to aspiring tour players, John Treacy, the chief executive of the Irish Sports Council, remarked, "the trust is all about believing the potential of the golfers at a time when financial support is so crucial to their further development as professionals. It gives these golfers the necessary platform from which to really advance their careers".

Fledgling Irish professionals, men and women, will again benefit from the next package of grants (due to be announced in April) but those moving out on to the international stage now find a much more crowded market. Nowadays, tour golf is more international than at any time in its history which is evidenced by players from the likes of Thailand, China, Korea, Colombia, Austria and Finland occupying places in the world's top-100 alongside players from the traditional power bases.