Given the financial rewards accrued by our top golfers, it is little surprise that many of the country’s outstanding amateurs have aspirations of someday sharing in the massive riches available from the professional game.

Italian golf has reached previously unknown heights since the arrival in the big time over the last few years of the Molinari brothers Francesco and Edoardo and the clear possibility that in the 20 year-old Matteo Manassero, last week’s highly impressive winner of the BMW PGA Championship, they possess the next Tiger Woods.

While the world’s media will focus almost exclusively over the next few days on Rory McIlroy and his attempts to explain his walk out during the Honda Classic, this week’s WGC Cadillac World Championship will also be of considerable significance for Pádraig Harrington.

Five days before he celebrates his 36th birthday, Ronan O’Gara last night received the kind of early ‘present’ he must have been dreading.

Excuses abounded to try and explain away the failure of the Irish golfers in the Accenture World Match Play Championship but none were convincing.

Only a couple of years after winning the first of his two Irish caps, Damien Varley finds himself down the pecking order of Ireland’s hookers.

Pádraig Harrington this week samples the incredible atmosphere surrounding the par-three 16th hole at the TPC Stadium course in Scottsdale, Arizona as he makes his debut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

THE new “Nike Chums” Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods remain the top two players in the world golf rankings in spite of missing the cut in last week’s Abu Dhabi Championship.

Never do things in a hurry.

It now seems only Colin Montgomerie can come between Paul McGinley and the captaincy of the 2014 European Ryder Cup team.