Keith Nolan is beginning the countdown to his final days in amateur golf. In starts on Friday when, with Irish international colleague Richard Coughlan, he flies out from Heathrow as a member of the British and Irish Walker Cup team to face the United States on August 9th and 10th.

The match will be at Quaker Ridge, outside New York City, where playing conditions are expected to be similar to the tight fairways and slippery greens of a typical, US Open venue. In that context, Nolan and Coughlan will have an edge over most of their colleagues, through their experience of US college golf as students at East Tennessee and Clemson, respectively.

In fact, along with compatriot Peter Lawrie, they competed in the inaugural Palmer Cup matches against their American university counterparts in Orlando early this month. Nolan, who is widely acknowledged as an outstanding stroke-player, proved his matchplay skills on that occasion, winning both his singles.

Both players were requested not to compete in the South of Ireland Championship, currently in progress at Lahinch. "That was a bit of a wrench," said Nolan yesterday. "But I can understand the anxiety of the R and A officials that we should be competitively fresh."

After Quaker Ridge, Nolan plans to compete in the US Amateur Championship at Cog Hill, Chicago where, of course, Tiger Woods will not be defending the title he won for the last three years.

"It means missing the Irish Close and the Interprovincials, but it can't be helped," Nolan said.

Nolan went on: "From my four years' experience of college golf in the States, it has always been my ambition to play in the US Amateur. This is obviously the last chance I'll have and I've heard some fine reports about Cog Hill."

Given that Woods joined professional ranks last August, it is a particularly interesting choice of venue for an event which he dominated to an unprecedented level. As it happens, Woods's last victory as a professional was in the Western Open on July 6th - at Cog Hill.

After the US Amateur, Nolan will be returning home for his amateur swansong. That will be as a member of Ireland's team for the Home Internationals at Burnham and Berrow on the Bristol Channel on September 10th to 12th. "After that, I'm turning professional," he said.

The Walker Cup squad have already been together for a squad session at the London Club on July 19th and 20th, the last two days of the British Open at Royal Troon. "I'm hoping we can get back there this week before we head off on Friday," said the Bray international.