I have to admit the announcement of Christy O’Connor Jnr’s death in Tenerife yesterday hit me hard. 

THERE are golfing legends, pioneers of the game such as Harry Varden, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, giants such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, our own Christy O’Connor Snr, and there are legends in golf, those who – perhaps only within their own parish, within their own club, within their own limited circle – will live forever in local folklore.

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.

WHATEVER happened to Johnny Giles? It might seem like a daft question to ask about one of the best-known people in Ireland, a man whose analysis of football, in the press and on television, is seen to carry the clout of papal infallibility, and whose own long and illustrious career as a player and manager was fittingly recognised in Dublin last night with his induction into the RTÉ/Irish Sports Council Hall of Fame.

The Ryder Cup was long overdue coming to Ireland but is going to be worth the wait, golf legend Tony Jacklin announced today.