AFTER the excitement of the Race to Dubai and Lee Westwood’s successes on Sunday, the attention switches to the World Cup of Golf which starts Thursday at the Mission Hills Golf Club in China.

RORY McILROY is one of the most recognisable and popular sportsmen on this island but his declaration of intent to represent Britain in the 2016 Olympics, should golf be accepted at next week’s vote of the IOC, is likely to lose him friends on the southern side of the border.

AGAINST the backdrop of the forthcoming inauguration of Barrack Obama as the first African-American president of the US, the controversy over South Africa’s participation in the World Cup of Golf at Waterville in July 1978 is a reminder of how much things have changed in 30 years.

Record prize money of £8.8m (€12.2m) will be on offer on the 2008 Ladies European Tour, it was announced today.

AFTER David Howell’s admirable 20 under par, three-shot victory over Tiger Woods in Shanghai on Sunday, it is only reasonable that he and Luke Donald should be the bookmakers’ favourites for the World Cup of Golf at the Victoria Course at Vilamoura on Portugal’s Algarve on Thursday.

PAUL McGINLEY’S amazing year simply gets better and better.

THE THUMB injury sustained by Pádraig Harrington in the World Matchplay has almost fully healed and he is in good shape going into this week's Volvo Masters at Valderrama.

PETER LAWRIE has become the first Irish golfer to be named as the European Tour’s Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year.

AS Nick Faldo was walking to the last green in the final round of the British Open last Sunday, the crowd were on their feet, giving him a tremendous ovation.

THERE are still one or two lucrative season ending tournaments to be decided but the world rankings at the end of 2002 have been decided.