Three weeks out from the Walker Cup and Irish top amateurs are already claiming the headlines.

Irish golfers have won The Open five times, the US Open twice and the US PGA three times, not to mention nine British Amateur Championships.

As exciting as it was to finally get the US PGA Championship underway yesterday, I found all the waffle and verbal tripe annoying. Talking for the sake of talking is boring and for a game that is haemorrhaging membership numbers in the US and in Europe, the conversation could have been a little more informed at times too.

Ireland’s best amateurs went their separate ways this week but whether the US Amateur or the Home Internationals are their next port of call, they departed in buoyant mood following an excellent collective showing at the European Individual Amateur in Slovakia last week.

Tiger Woods was in contention for his first PGA Tour win in two years as he lay in joint third after his second round of the Quicken Loans National.

Low scoring was the order of the day as the early starters took advantage of an almost defenceless Old Course at St Andrews in the 144th Open.

Golfers are sticklers for routine, mainly because their career is based upon repetition of the same thing, day in, day out.

Shane Lowry secured his place in next month’s US Open with another superb display at the BMW PGA Championship.

US Amateur champion Matthew Fitzpatrick leaves innocent ways behind him today as he starts life in the professional ranks at Fota Island Resort.

Justin Rose discovered just why it has been 25 years since anyone won back-to-back US Open titles on Thursday, despite Pinehurst playing easier than expected for the early starters.

Reigning US Amateur champion and Open Championship silver medallist Matthew Fitzpatrick has chosen the Irish Open for his professional debut.

Pre-tournament favourite Rory McIlroy has been drawn in with two young American stars in the first round of the US Masters on Thursday.

When Jack Nicklaus said that Merion “acre for acre may be the best test of golf in the world”, he certainly wasn’t considering the course from the point of view of tournament logistics.

Rory McIlroy was in danger of a fourth missed cut in five starts in San Francisco today – and if it happens it would hurt far more than all the others.

TOM WATSON is the gift that kept on giving.

AS the spiritual home of the US Open, the storied Pebble Beach Golf Links seemed perhaps an incongruous place to announce the destination of a new venue on the circuit for the 2017 tournament.

TIGER WOODS has no plans to appoint a new coach as he prepares to defend his title at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio, which gets underway today.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON believes he can make 2010 a landmark year by becoming the first man to win all four majors in the same calendar year.

Three years after becoming the first Scot to win the US Amateur in 108 years, Richie Ramsay now has his first European Tour title.

Ernie Els made his considerable presence felt with a second round 67 at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa today.

IT will take Tiger Woods another four weeks at least before he can renew his bid for a 15th major championship and so narrow the gap on Jack Nicklaus at the top of the honours list to three.

Scotland’s Richie Ramsay continued to battle for the Wales Open lead late into the night at Celtic Manor today – but was facing a possible two-stroke penalty.

After waiting six-and-a-half hours to resume his bid for the Celtic Manor Wales Open today, Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie needed little more an hour to almost certainly wreck his chances.

European Tour rookie Richie Ramsay takes a one-shot lead into the third round of the Celtic Manor Wales Open – and hopes his experience of playing with some of the biggest names in golf will now pay dividends.

Colin Montgomerie stayed in the hunt for the Wales Open with a second successive 69 at Celtic Manor today – but American Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin looked likely to miss the halfway cut.

Irish golfer Gareth Maybin, so close to winning just the seventh European Tour event of his career in December, was in a class of his own when the BMW Italian Open began in Turin today.

Richie Ramsay, who three years ago became the first Scot for 108 years to win the American amateur title, made a flying start at the Italian Open in Turin today.

TRYING to make a joke about having a bomb in his bag has taught amateur golf sensation Danny Lee to be more careful about what he says.

New Zealand amateur Danny Lee served notice to the golfing world of his outstanding talent at the Johnnie Walker Classic on Sunday, before boldly stating his ambitious goal of outstripping the achievements of Tiger Woods.

Walker Cup players Lloyd Saltman and Rory McIlory safely came through the first stage of the European Tour’s qualifying school at The Oxfordshire.

Ever since Tiger Woods was beaten by Gary Wolstenholme at Royal Porthcawl in 1995 Britain and Ireland’s amateurs have gone into the Walker Cup with high hopes and believing anything is possible.

A red-hot short game fired Nick Dougherty to the top of the leaderboard in the first round of the US Open at Oakmont.

Geoff Ogilvy had no complaints about a one-over-par 71 in the opening round of the US Open today.

Welshman Bradley Dredge has earned himself a debut in the Masters at Augusta next April – by just 0.01 world ranking points from England’s Justin Rose.

Nick Faldo, who has played just six tournaments this year and not made a halfway cut in any of them, has been paired with Tiger Woods in the first two rounds of the Open championship at Hoylake on Thursday and Friday.

Swede Mathias Gronberg moved into contention for a first US Tour victory when he produced a third-round 65 at the Buick Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut, today.

THE biggest marketing feeding frenzy in women’s golf is to be unleashed today as teenage prodigy Michelle Wie turns pro — a week before her 16th birthday.

Ricky Barnes, who as US Amateur champion finished 21st in last year’s Masters at Augusta, was disqualified from the European Open at the K Club near Dublin today.

GARY WOLSTENHOLME and Michael Skelton, the oldest and youngest members of the Britain and Ireland team, have been paired together for the opening game of the Walker Cup against America at Ganton in Yorkshire today.

COULD it finally be about to happen? Round one of the 85th US PGA Championship sees Phil Mickelson right up there after a sparking 66 suggesting this may well be the week when he rids himself of the tag that has haunted him for the past ten years — the greatest player in the world never to have won a major.

DENIS O’SULLIVAN didn’t win, but a brilliant eight iron across water at the final hole, then a holed putt from five feet gave him the much-needed birdie for a tied second place yesterday in the De Vere PGA Seniors Championship.

Johnny Miller, one of the greatest golfers of his generation, is starting to think about coming out of retirement.

Chris DiMarco showed the big guns how it should be done in the opening round of the Masters at Augusta.