European invaders are back at the scene of arguably their biggest rout since Washington crossed the Delaware. And with respect to the presence of two Irishmen, it is difficult to see much of a change in the $5 million Andersen Consulting Matchplay Championship, which starts here at La Costa today.

A glimmer of hope came yesterday from the continent's top player, Colin Montgomerie. "This is like playing a tennis match over one set - anyone can win," he said of the 18-hole format. Then again, if it were cricket, one could look to the weather which has been quite foul, with up to an inch and a half of rain falling in the area last weekend alone.

But the problem is that it happens to be golf, at which the Americans have a formidable standard-bearer in Tiger Woods, winner of eight out of his last 11 tournaments. Even the world number one has misgivings about a format, however, in which he lost at the quarter-final stage to the eventual winner, Jeff Maggert, last year.

"It's always more difficult to win a match-play event because you can go out there and shoot a great round of golf and somebody just out-boat-races you," he said. "Sure, the same thing can happen in medal play, except that you have three other days to make it up. That's the big difference. There have been days when I've shot six or seven under par and lost."

Padraig Harrington, making his debut today against last month's Bob Hope Classic winner, Jesper Parnevik, likes the difference. In fact he built up a very impressive match-play record last year when he had the distinction of beating Mark O'Meara in the Ryder Cup, Carlos Franco and Ernie Els at Wentworth and Nick Price in the Dunhill Cup.

"Those wins are unlikely to have any effect on Jesper, because pros don't really care about reputations," said the Dubliner, who is still troubled by a heavy head-cold. "But they haven't done my confidence any harm. And I will need to be strong because if I'm to win, I expect my matches to go all the way."

By the Swede's own estimation, he is currently playing "probably the best golf of my career." But he repeated his admiration for Harrington here yesterday when he said: "He's one of those guys you really don't know what you have, because he can play unbelievable golf when he's on."

As it happens, Harrington is looking at the bigger picture: he would meet the winner of Fred Couples and Joe Ozaki in the second round. "I'm now 56th in the world rankings and I need to get back into the top 50 if I'm to get invitations into events like Bay Hill and the Players' Championship," he said. "So, I'm setting myself the target of winning at least two matches here. That should do it."

Clarke, on the other hand, acknowledges he has a poor record in match-play since turning professional. It is all the more surprising, given that he was virtually unbeatable when he quit the amateur scene in August 1990, ironically after beating Harrington in the final of the Irish Close at Baltray.

"It's a mental thing. I simply geared all my thinking to medalplay when I turned pro but given the importance of events like this, I realise I must change."

Matchplay embodies some fascinating, competitive elements, as Greg Norman points out. "How you feel about the individual you're playing comes into consideration," said the three-time winner of the World Matchplay at Wentworth. "Is he your best friend or your worst enemy? Do you like his demeanour on the golf course? Those things can become very important in head-to-head."

The 12 European challengers are spread fairly evenly through a draw in which Woods is seeded to meet David Duval in next Sunday's 36-hole final. Twelve months ago, Bernhard Langer, Jose-Maria Olazabal and Patrik Sjoland were the only survivors from 10 Europeans after the opening round and interest was snuffed out totally when Olazabal lost to John Huston in the quarter-finals.

On that occasion, it was argued that the open, resort nature of the course, exercised a levelling down effect on the field. But Montgomerie, who plays American Dennis Paulson today, believes the challenge is now tougher. "The rough is a lot more severe, which is good," he said. "I would like to think that a player of my stature should have an edge on the first tee."

Monty is a marvel, and no mistake. After shooting 20-under-par to finish runner-up in the Million Dollar Challenge on December 5th, he took 10 weeks off. And when the Scot says off, he means it. "I didn't take a golf club in my hand until a practice round here on Monday and I'm fresh, ready to go," he said.

Top match of the opening round is clearly the clash between Woods and Michael Campbell, who lead the money lists on either side of the Atlantic. "I think what Tiger has done is phenomenal and I have a lot of respect for him as a player and a person," said Campbell, who has won four tournaments in as many months. "My confidence is very high and I'm very focused."

Last November in Taiwan, Campbell became one of the few players to beat Woods in recent months. Still, he wouldn't argue with his status as underdog. "Tiger is streaks ahead of everybody else out here," he admitted. But like a true competitor, he added: "When I head to the first tee, all I will be thinking about is my first drive, nothing more."