No doubt, Irish tour players are sick and tired of hearing about their failure to win their home title in over two decades. No doubt, they'd love to change that barren statistic that stretches all the way back to John O'Leary in 1982.

Whatever the reason for their inability to win - and it's certainly not because they're not good enough - Paul McGinley, for one, is not inclined to use home town pressure as an excuse.

"Actually it's good to have expectations placed on your shoulders, especially if your game is in shape. The worst pressure I find in golf is not making the cut. Obviously, your game is not good if you're in that position and you're battling (to make the cut)," said McGinley, who is the leading placed Irishman in the Order of Merit, in 24th position.

"I tend to thrive off pressure. If you're playing well, the Irish Open, with all the expectations, is a great week. The most important thing is to get your game in shape and then to thrive off the home crowd. Last year that's what happened to me," recalled McGinley, who only survived on the cut but then produced a third-round 66 (the best round of the day by three shots) and eventually finished tied-fifth.

"It propelled me onto the Ryder Cup team, because I was going nowhere before the Irish Open."

In many ways, the Irish Open transformed McGinley's season, culminating in that place on the Ryder Cup team.

This time round, there's no Ryder Cup chase to occupy his mind. The Dubliner, who had a lesson with coach Bob Torrance last evening, goes into the tournament still seeking a first tour win since his last victory at the Wales Open in 2001, and he knows he needs to sharpen up some elements of his game if he is to achieve that aim.

"I'm still lacking competition, I need lots more golf under my belt," claimed McGinley, who will be competing in just his ninth tournament on the European Tour.

Still, he has notched up five top-11 finishes (including a runner-up place to Paul Casey in the TCL Classic in China, where he lost in a play-off) on tour this season. "My short game hasn't been sharp enough. My technique is good, but I feel that, on tour-standard greens, it is not there. I've to play tournaments to sharpen up.

"As I've been saying for some time, I feel that I've played the best golf of my career the first three months of the year. There's been a lot of consistency and I know that I'm not far off. I just need a bit more competition to get into my stride."

McGinley, who underwent successful knee surgery late last year, will have no shortage of competition in the coming months as he plays a stretch that includes the Irish Open, the BMW Championship and the Wales Open, while also competing in the US Open international qualifier at Walton Heath on June 6th in a bid to get a place in the field for Pinehurst next month.

As a Ryder Cup player, he is already exempt for the British Open at St Andrews.

In terms of numerical strength, this will be the biggest Irish presence on tour this season with no fewer than 20 players guaranteed a spot. That number could yet increase to 21 as Stephen Browne - up to last night - was first reserve. If anyone should pull out of the field for any reason up to Thursday's first round, then Browne would get in.

Yesterday, Browne went through his regular build-up regime and played a practice round with Colm Moriarty.

"Obviously, if I was to get my place in the field, I'd like to get it as soon as possible," said Browne, who won his full card at tour school. "This is one tournament that I'd really love to play in. I'm just hoping that the place in the field becomes available."

After making his debut in a full-blown European Tour in last week's British Masters in difficult weather conditions, Rory McIlroy gets another opportunity to rub shoulders with Europe's elite. Although he is more than aware that he is still on a learning curve. "I've learned just how good these guys are and how much I need to improve," said 16-year-old McIlroy, who will use his Holywood clubmate and fellow Irish international Harry Diamond as his caddie this week.

"I know that I have time on my side, but I saw first hand at the Forest of Arden how pros can turn fives into fours and good amateurs can't do that . . . and that's what I need to do. It will mean a lot of hard work."

The full list of Irish players in the tournament, which this year has a prize purse of €2 million, is: Padraig Harrington, the highest world ranked player at ninth in the field; Darren Clarke, who has moved to 13th in the latest world rankings; Graeme McDowell, McGinley, Gary Murphy, Peter Lawrie, Philip Walton, Mark Murphy, Colm Moriarty, David Higgins, Simon Thornton, Conor Mallon, Damian Mooney, Brendan McGovern, Jimmy Bolger, John Dwyer, Leslie Walker and amateurs Rory McIlroy, Connor Doran and Séamus Power.

Irish positions on European Tour Order of Merit: 24th, P McGinley a219,846; 32nd, D Clarke a197,657; 39th, P Lawrie a177,380; 47th, P Harrington a142,306; 52nd, G McDowell a122,218; 61st, D McGrane a108,312; 78th, G Murphy a75,164; 158th, D Higgins a30,000; 190th, M Hoey a18,034; 232nd, S Browne a8,149; 285th, P Walton €1,107.

USMoneylist

1 Vijay Singh $5,292,006

2 Phil Mickelson $4,144,456

3 Tiger Woods $3,814,290

4 David Toms $2,282,443

5 Chris DiMarco $2,148,278

6 Fred Funk $1,928,200

7 Luke Donald $1,836,693

8 Adam Scott $1,744,748

9 Retief Goosen $1,698,408

10 Jim Furyk $1,539,083

11 Joe Ogilvie $1,476,843

12 Kenny Perry $1,403,063

13 Ted Purdy $1,348,840

14 Tom Lehman $1,346,893

15 Ernie Els $1,344,683

16 Darren Clarke $1,299,120

17 Scott Verplank $1,288,713

18 Peter Lonard $1,285,011

19 Padraig Harrington $1,253,406

20 Stuart Appleby $1,248,267

WorldRankings

1 Tiger Woods (US) 12.96pts

2 Vijay Singh (Fij) 12.88

3 Ernie Els (Rsa) 10.63

4 Phil Mickelson (US) 9.15

5 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 7.79

6 Chris DiMarco (US) 5.73

7 Adam Scott (Aus) 5.68

8 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 5.47

9 Padraig Harrington (Irl) 5.27

10 David Toms (US) 4.81

11 Luke Donald (Eng) 4.61

12 Stewart Cink (US) 4.59

13 Darren Clarke (NIrl) 4.4

14 Mike Weir (Can) 4.36

15 Kenny Perry (US) 4.35

16 Davis Love (US) 4.18

17 Stuart Appleby (Aus) 3.99

18 Jim Furyk (US) 3.8

19 Miguel A Jimenez (Spa) 3.74

20 Scott Verplank (US) 3.58