Irish OpenIs it whingeing and whining, or simply a psychological ploy? The preamble of the past few days, and especially yesterday when a stiff, cold wind blew across the Carton House demesne, has been dire if diplomatically phrased warnings from Europe's elite players of how tough a test the Montgomerie Course will be in determining the winner of the Nissan Irish Open, an event with a €2 million purse.

Maybe the PGA European Tour will edge up a few tees to assuage such moaning; then again, maybe not.

After all, it's the same course for everyone.

And while the move to a new May date has brought with it a cooler clime and the more unpredictable nature of the early Irish summer, the quality of the field (seven of Europe's winning Ryder Cup team, 34 of the top 50 on the European Tour Order of Merit) is such that most should be capable of answering any questions asked of them by Monty's unique design.

Certainly, it will be a tough examination; and it won't bare any similarity to the target golf that is the norm on tour. But, hey, what's the problem with that?

"This course is going to reward very good shots and punish weaker ones," said its designer, Colin Montgomerie. "I think nowadays that weaker courses don't punish poor shots enough. This is different. If you do run into a bunker or go in the rough and make a par, you deserve it."

Padraig Harrington might feel he has enough problems of his own without being asked to take on a course which may prove to be the toughest outside of the majors that players will face all year. The Dubliner is the highest ranked player from the world rankings competing (he is ninth), but the recurrence of an old neck injury in recent days has cast a shadow darker than any rain cloud over the build-up.

Yet, it wasn't all doom and gloom. Harrington, even if his body language betrayed the fact that he was compromised by the injury, did play in the pro-am yesterday and will be able to play in the tournament.

Whether he is able to compete to the level he would wish, however, remains to be seen. When told that Montgomerie had placed further weight on his sore shoulder by tipping him to win, Harrington remarked: "Did he really? What can I say? You know, in terms of me personally coming into this event, my game has been erratic. I haven't played anywhere near enough golf.

"I think after I won the Honda Classic (in March), I played six rounds of golf in the next six weeks. So, I am very uncompetitive . . . I basically haven't played enough. There's not enough flow in my game at the moment. I'm very erratic. I'm not competitive. I would like to say I was doing the right things, but I'm not. Hopefully I'll be okay and do a few things right and (that) I can compete this week."

Even if Harrington were in the whole of his health, which he's clearly not, the Irishman was of the opinion the Montgomerie Course represented a challenge that tour players are unlikely to encounter often.

"I would not say that I have ever see a golf course as severe off the tee. There are a lot of doglegs and crosswinds, a lot of bunkers, and holes where you can't reach the greens . . . anybody who drives the ball well here is going to have a tremendous advantage.

"It is as Monty wanted it when he was designing the golf course. He wanted the emphasis on driving, and that is for sure what you've got here."

So, who can win? The emphasis on this par 72 course of 7,301 yards is mainly on driving. If you were to go by the Reuters Statistics on the European Tour, that would give Peter O'Malley some sort of an edge: the Australian is ranked first in driving accuracy (76.5 per cent).

However, his problems lie mainly on the greens (he is 109th in putts per greens in regulation), and the undulating greens here will also pose serious questions.

The Montgomerie Course will be a challenge from the first drive to the last putt, with 139 cavernous pot bunkers along with heavy, consistent rough within feet of fairways that are deemed among the tightest on tour. And, if you were to listen to Monty himself, it's a course that should ultimately produce a quality winner.

Does that mean one from the seven European Ryder Cup players present? Monty, Harrington, Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood, David Howell, Paul McGinley or Miguel Angel Jimenez?

Or will it be one of the other world's top-40 players playing? Angel Cabrera or Graeme McDowell?

Or, as it was at Baltray last year when Brett Rumford triumphed, will it be a springer?

Of course, there's also the hoary chestnut of just when another Irishman will win the Irish Open.

Not since John O'Leary in 1982 has anyone managed it, but it would seem the quality of Irish players on tour these days - Harrington, Clarke, McDowell, McGinley, Peter Lawrie and Gary Murphy, all inside the top-80 on the Order of Merit - provides a more solid platform for an assault than at any time since that triumph.

Whoever does emerge as the new champion will require mental fortitude as a 15th club in his bag. As Clarke put it, "I think this week is going to test everyone's mental game . . . there's going to be some high scores this week. It's almost like every shot is going to be precious. You're going to have to be very switched on, and very careful with your yardages." It sounds like the ultimate golfing survival test.