Five Irishmen are included among the eight players to receive sponsors' invitations to the Smurfit European Open at the K Club next week. Jamie Birkmayr, general manager of the European Open, announced yesterday that Christy O'Connor Jnr, John McHenry, Eoghan O'Connell, Gary Murphy and Francis Howley will all be invited to play in the £850,000 tournament which has added significance this year as it is the penultimate Ryder Cup qualifying event.
New Zealand's Michael Campbell, England's Mike McLean and America's Gary Nicklaus, son of Jack, are the others to receive invitations to join a star-studded field that already includes Colin Montgomerie, Ian Woosnam and Bernhard Langer, the 1995 champion, fresh from his Czech Open success.
Defending champion Per-Ulrik Johansson will also be in the line-up along with Ryder Cup captain Severiano Ballesteros and his long-time sidekick Jose-Maria Olazabal.
Cup hopeful, Padraig Harrington, will be hoping to use this event to play his way into one of the 10 automatic places available on the European team for next month's showdown with the US at Valderrama.
McHenry and O'Connell, both former Walker Cup players, will join Murphy, who successfully qualified for this year's Open championship at Troon, and Milltown's Howley to compete for a slice of the biggest ever prize fund at a tournament staged in Ireland.
On the professional circuit, the senior tours are big business. The older golfers may lose a little distance with age, but the purses for senior events on both sides of the Atlantic ensure they can still earn a good living.
The amateurs are realising, too, that golf doesn't stop when you reach the reach the age of 65. Apart from national championships, there are now senior events in all four provinces and an opportunity to represent Ireland at international level.
Indeed the National championship which will be held at Knock Golf Club on August 28th and 29th, currently has a waiting list of almost 30. This is Eddie Condren's second season on the senior circuit and already the three handicap player from Greystones has made quite an impact. Last year he won the Irish Championship in Oughterard and helped the Irish Seniors to victory over Sweden in Malmo. This season he has already won the Ulster Championship in Warrenpoint, finished joint second in the Munster Seniors and fourth in the Connacht equivalent. He will represent Ireland again later this month in the return match against the Swedes in Massereene, before defending his Irish Championship in Knock two days later.
It's a demanding schedule, but the likeable Condren is enjoying his life as a senior.
Irish Seniors (v Sweden): Eddie Condren (Greystones), Sean Coyne (Killarney), Bertie Wilson (Clandeboye), Bernard Rogers (Island), Bob Wallace (Spa), John Doyle (Lahinch), Basil McCrea (Royal Portrush) and Joseph D Coey (Clandeboye).
Kilrush club member Niamh Whelan has only been playing golf for two years, but already she is the envy of most club golfers, having won two Captain's Prizes. She won her first last year and she made it two in a row last Sunday when she pipped Margaret Hehir on the back nine.
Brian O'Donnell had the first albatross recorded at the Galway Bay Golf and Country Club on Sunday last. He won the singles competition with a fine score of 39 points, playing off 18. He birdied the par four fifth hole for four points, but two holes later he scored his albatross.
At the long par five seventh, Brian hit a perfect drive downwind. His second shot was tricky, with a narrow entrance to the green and a watery grave all down the left. Undaunted, Brian hit a seven iron to the front of the green, from where it rolled on and into the cup for a magnificent two.
