CONSIDERING his ongoing tendency to run up large numbers at one or more holes in almost every event he contests, Pádraig Harrington can hardly be looking forward to the Tournament Players Championship at the water-strewn Sawgrass course in Jacksonville, Florida.

MOBILE phone company 3, the new sponsors of the Irish Open, must be anxious at the lack of big-name foreign players who will compete in Baltray next month (May 14-17).

PADRAIG HARRINGTON will make his first competitive start on European soil in 2008 in the Irish Open at Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Resort from May 15-18.

IRELAND'S "big three" of Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley have suffered a noticeable drop in their world rankings since the beginning of 2006.

GRAEME McDowell’s spectacular final round of 64 that shot him up to a tie for fourth in the French Open at the weekend means that Ireland now has three players in the top ten of the European Tour order of merit.

Charlie Mulqueen

PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman had to overcome years of pessimism and resistance before people began to appreciate the magic of Sawgrass. John Garrity explains.

PAUL MCGINLEY had been down in the dumps about his status as a professional golfer prior to finishing a splendid second behind Mark O’Meara in the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday.

IT isn’t always easy to feel sorry for a man who has made many millions of pounds from his sporting exploits at the age of 34 and is guaranteed to live in luxury for the rest of his life.

PÁDRAIG Harrington hopes to wake up next Monday morning feeling good and tired — even though by then the first major championship of the season will be only four days away!

DARREN CLARKE is set to play a minimum of 11 tournaments in America this year but is adamant that he will not be joining the US Tour full-time.