On the wall of the corridor into the players' lockerroom at Fota Island, Keith Nolan is deserving of not one, but two, photographs. In each, he is holding an impressive trophy - awarded to the winner of the Irish amateur open strokeplay championship - and Nolan, then a Walker Cup player, was the champion in 1996 and again in 1997.

Almost half a decade on, and Nolan - who chose to base himself in the US after graduating from East Tennessee college - is back for this week's Murphy's Irish Open. Word of the sponsor's invitation was delivered to him three weeks ago on his way from Toronto, having competed in a Buy.Com Tour event there, to Cleveland where he was due to play in another of America's secondary tour events.

It couldn't have come at a better time. This year has been a grind for Nolan. Having lost his US Tour card last season, he was left with no status at all in the States this year and his infrequent appearances on the circuit have come only after much hard searching for precious invitations.

"It's rough, having no status, but my thinking is that I had 24 weeks last year where I didn't play well enough. There's talk if you lose your (US) PGA card then you should have at least something the next year. But I can see both sides. They give you enough events to play well enough in, and I just didn't play well."

Such honesty isn't always found among self-critical professional golfers, but Nolan - trimmer because of a new fitness regime and also more conscious of his diet - believes that playing in the Irish Open this week could be the break that he has been looking for.

Although he took a decision to be based in the US after he won his tour card for the 1998 season, only to regain it and lose it again last year, the prospect of regular competition on the European circuit is now increasingly appealing.

"It would be easier for me to come back now that I have got no status in America," he admitted. "Having status over there for three years meant it was hard to come home for two weeks, especially when I had my tour card and I knew they were two tournaments that I would get in to."

Nolan's freefall down the US money rankings last season was disappointing, and a touch baffling. "I don't really know why it happened. That first year I had my card, I could possibly understand why I played as poorly as I did. But there was no excuse last year because I had been out there before and knew what to expect. I know I put a lot of pressure on my game by not hitting it far enough, but . . . that wasn't sufficient reason."

He has now changed to the solid ball and also started to use Taylor-Made clubs. The six yards extra distance is "only half a club, but the combination of that and coming back here where I've had some success makes me believe maybe something good will happen this week. I don't think I could have picked a better course for me on which to play the Irish Open."

Yesterday, after a full practice round on the course that was re-designed in 1999 by Jeff Howes, Nolan was particularly impressed with the number of "solid par fours out there. If I had any wish, it would be for more rough."

While Nolan and Harrington, who preceded him as amateur strokeplay champion on this course, and Paul McGinley, who won the Irish PGA here three years ago, are familiar with the Fota Island lay-out, Darren Clarke has never competed here. The northerner arrived at the course last evening but only spent sufficient time to unload his clubs and intends to get his first taste of the course today.