Adare Manor will host this year’s Irish PGA Championship from October 2-5.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON believes a return to links golf in the Scottish Highlands this week will provide the ideal preparation for his bid to capture a third British Open in five years later this month.

IRELAND’S challenge for this week’s Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth is led by Darren Clarke, a man with a decent record around the Burma Road lay-out.

ALTHOUGH Paul McGinley is the current leader of the points table — courtesy of his second place in the last ever Lancome Trophy at the weekend — it won’t be clear who is making the early running for next year’s European Ryder Cup team for another few weeks until the end of a three week spell.

PAUL McGINLEY walked off the Robert Trent Jones designed course at Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Course yesterday having shot a tidy three under par 69 in the Smurfit IPGA pro-am and described it as one of the finest he had ever played.