Nick Faldo expressed regret yesterday for any offence he may have caused through recent criticism of the Murphy's Irish Open. Decidedly negative views were attributed to him in an article published in the July 13th issue of the British tabloid, the Express.

According to the article, the wisdom of Faldo's decision to play full-time on the American Tour was emphasised by what he found at Druids Glen early this month. "It was typically European," the article claimed. "A bus to the (driving) range, where if you weren't hitting dirty balls, it was because they had run out altogether."

In the paid-for, contracted article with Faldo, it was also alleged that the greens were "the worst I have stepped on for two years." It was regrettable that one should have had to put up with so much "before you can get to your normal day's work."

Organisers of the event were deeply disappointed with his comments, not least for the fact that Faldo had been a three-time winner of the title and was paid a handsome promotional fee for his return to the championship this year.

"It was never my intention to criticise the Murphy's Irish Open," he said yesterday. "As I think you know, I am a huge fan of Irish golf and the Irish Open is one of my favourite tournaments."

But what of the article, which one assumed was done with his approval? "I was not given an opportunity to view the Express article prior to publication," he replied. "At this stage, all I can say is that I did not go out of my way to criticise the greens or practice facilities at Druid's Glen. In fact I tried to respond with constructive comments to questions that were put to me."

Faldo concluded: "I enjoyed my visit to Ireland and although I anticipate playing much of my future golf in the United States, the Irish Open remains one of my favourite events."

Though the Druids Glen greens were far from perfect during the Irish Open, Faldo was misguided if he felt they were entirely responsible for his putting problems. That much was evident in the Canadian Skins Game over the weekend when he had nothing to show for his efforts alongside Greg Norman ($275,000), Fred Couples ($50,000) and Jack Nicklaus ($35,000).

The Englishman now faces the challenge of attempting to get some sort of a productive stroke going during this week's International at Castle Pines, prior to the USPGA Championship at Winged Foot two weeks later. He has a proud record of never having missed a cut in six appearances in the last of the season's "majors"

Meanwhile, Philip Walton and Paul McGinley are locked into a battle for the third place with Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington in Ireland's team for the Alfred Dunhill Cup at St Andrews on October 16th to 19th. This will given an edge to their involvement in the £750,000 Scandinavian Masters, starting in Malmo on Thursday.

Walton finished in a tie for 14th place in the Dutch Open last Sunday, a cheque for £10,290 lifting the Malahide professional to 46th in the Order of Merit, less than £25,000 behind McGinley, whose Hilversum reward was a modest £5,390. "I have a bit of a cushion on Philip but I plan to widen the gap if possible," said McGinley yesterday. Clearly, he is hoping for a repeat of last year's line-up which he captained to a count-back defeat by South Africa at the group stage. The team will be finalised after the Czech Open on August 7th to 10th.

Walton and McGinley will be joined in Malmo by British Open heroes Clarke and Harrington along with Ronan Rafferty, Des Smyth, Eamonn Darcy, Raymond Burns and David Higgins. Clarke returned to his home in Portrush last Saturday after a holiday with his wife in Scotland.

He has added to his collection of cars with a Range Rover which cost a relatively modest £50,000 sterling. Reflecting on the Open he said: "What I learned was that my best wasn't good enough at the time. But after thinking about it, I believe that what happened can only be good for me and help to further my career." The latest move towards that objective has been talks between his manager, Andrew Chandler, and officials of Mark McCormack's International Management Group, organisers of the £650,000 Toyota World Matchplay Championship at Wentworth on October 9th to 12th.

"At this stage there's a 50-50 chance of Darren getting among the chosen 12," said Chandler yesterday. "His chances would certainly improve dramatically if he were to head the European money list when the field is finalised after the BMW International at the end of August."

In terms of Ryder Cup points, Jeff Maggert achieved his stated objective by competing in the Greater Hartford Open for the first time since 1990. But US skipper, Tom Kite, could hardly have been impressed by the manner in which Maggert, with a final round of 71, was overtaken by the winner, Stewart Cink, with a closing 66.

With 80 Ryder Cup points for a share of second place, Maggert has enhanced his prospects of retaining a Ryder Cup place earned at Oak Hill two years ago, when he was beaten 4 and 3 by Mark James. Kite will have noted that Maggert has now been runner-up on nine occasions on the USPGA Tour and has only one victory to his credit.

Irish positions in the European Order of Merit: 2, Darren Clarke £397,754; 12, Padraig Harrington £190,974; 33, Paul McGinley £110,060; 46, Philip Walton £85,324; 65, Raymond Burns £58,297; 89, Ronan Rafferty £45,592; 101, Eamonn Darcy £32,291; 125, Des Smyth £30,783; 151, David Higgins £17,348; 154, Christy O'Connor Jnr £15,250; 203, John McHenry £2,010.