Home hero Shane Lowry holds the key to the O’Meara Course at Carton House beating off serious competition to host next year’s Irish Open.

It was the most English of distances — a couple of paces less than a cricket pitch — yet for Paul Casey the 20-yard walk to pull the ball out of the hole on the 18th green on the Montgomerie Course was the most pleasant of journeys.

Bad weather and the loss of five of your six headline stars before the weekend would be enough to cripple most tour events.

“I’d love to be back here. I think it would be a great tournament on the O’Meara.

Shane Lowry cast himself in the role of Irish Open messiah once more when he finished with a roof-raising brace of birdies to ease the pain of a major exodus by Rory McIlroy and the rest of Ireland’s Big Five at a wind-blown Carton House.

Shane Lowry embraced the pressure as a privilege and combined power and accuracy with some of his trademark short game genius to lead the Irish challenge alongside new dad Michael Hoey after the opening round of a rain-soaked Irish Open at Carton House.

FROM elation to frustration.

The PGA Championship at Wentworth usually signals the arrival of the big guns back to European soil. This week it is Ireland’s turn.

Shane Lowry might have become just the third amateur to win on the European Tour at Baltray in 2009, but he’s not piling his cash on a fairytale repeat from one of the quartet of amateurs at Carton House this week.

Shane Lowry believes it’s crucial an Irishman contends for Irish Open glory at Carton House this weekend and helps create the festival atmosphere to safeguard the tournament’s tenuous future.

Waterford Castle amateur Kevin Phelan is ready to give a US Open encore in this week’s Irish Open in Kildare.

Former champion Shane Lowry believes playing this year’s Irish Open on home ground at Carton House can help him regain the European Tour title he first won as an amateur four years ago.

The European Tour is toying with the idea of staging a special qualifier for this year’s Irish Open at Carton House.

Rathmore’s Alan Dunbar leads a strong Irish contingent looking to score a home victory against a stacked international field at Carton House this week for the International European Amateur Championship.

Whatever about the long-awaited return to Royal Portrush for the 2012 Irish Open, Carton House director of golf Francis Howley is already gearing up for the 2013 tournament.

THE European Tour insisted yesterday no final decision has been made on the venue for the 2012 Irish Open — despite suggestions from Tour chief George O’Grady that the tournament will be boosted by “an exciting new package” next year.

THE Montgomerie Course at Carton House will host next year’s European Amateur Golf Championships, with the August 8-11 event coming to this country for the first time in its 25-year history.

The Golfing Union of Ireland has announced Ireland will host the International European Amateur Championship in 2012.

DON’T be a whingeing Pom! That was US Open champion Michael Campbell’s message to his colleagues complaining about the weather and the difficulty of the Montgomerie Course on the eve of the Nissan Irish Open Championship.

NISSAN IRELAND confirmed that it will continue its sponsorship of the Irish Open Golf Championship in 2006.

Former milkman Craig Smith won the AIB Irish Amateur Open by a shot from Co Sligo’s Sean McTernan at Carton House.

Matthew Clark of Scotland enjoys a three shot lead after the first round of the AIB Irish Amateur Golf Championship today.