Eddie Jones may well be showing his World Cup hand a month early when he unveils his 31-man England squad for Japan today but the final cut can wait for Joe Schmidt and his Ireland selection permutations.

Self-preservation or team cohesion?

Ultan Dillane and Rory Scannell became the first players to be jettisoned from Ireland’s World Cup planning as Joe Schmidt’s training squad was trimmed ahead of Saturday’s opening summer Test against Italy.

Ultimately, it will be the responsibility of Mick McCarthy and his staff to work out the required balance between caution and adventure when Ireland travel to Denmark in a fortnight’s time.

At Ireland’s training camp in Portugal, Luca Connell is telling us how his unexpected call-up has disrupted his summer holiday plans. Not that he’s complaining, mind.

The next step in Mount Juliet’s evolution has arrived, writes Kevin Markham.

Billionaire Denis O’Brien has halted the sale of his exclusive Quinta do Lago resort in Portugal after bids fell short of the asking price, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Rory McIlroy returns to the fray at the PGA Championship today, one ligament lighter than in his last competitive appearance and with a lot more to lose if Jordan Spieth continues his dominance of the 2015 majors.

Rory McIlroy could have taken a longer, safer route to the 18th green at Whistling Straits. Instead he bounded down a steep hill like a mountain goat who’d just spotted a particularly juicy clump of grass.

Waterville has been named as the country’s best golf course for 2014 at a glittering global golf awards night in the Algarve.

It would be an exaggeration to say that Paul McGinley’s course design style is based on ‘Little Old Lady Theory’ but it’s not too far from the truth.

Paul McGinley flees from the idea that he was the perfect captain or that he has turned the Ryder Cup into a poisoned chalice for his successor.

After Paul McGinley’s near two-year commitment to Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup campaign he finds the expanding business side of Paul McGinley the golfer will see him contest just 15 events in 2015.

So what does a Ryder Cup captain do, once he’s delivered the trophy to his bosses at the European Tour?

ROY KEANE and his family have scored with a modest property investment on South Mall, Cork — buying a four-storey building for the price of a mediocre Championship league footballer.

IT’S just a theory, but might Roy Keane be selling his Cheshire home to expand his property interests in Quinta do Lago?

PORTUGAL’S Algarve is massively popular with Irish holidaymakers, though visitor numbers to Praia da Luz are small by comparison to those enjoyed by big resorts like Vilamoura and Quinta Do Lago.

A FORMER government official has been charged with attempting to sway a bid for Antigua’s mobile phone company in favour of a consortium led by Irish businessman Denis O’Brien.

PROFITS at an aircraft leasing firm owned by the businessman Denis O’Brien more than halved in 2003, according to accounts just filed at the Companies Registration Office.

FEARLESS in business and hungry for a challenge, Denis O’Brien has regularly flirted with disaster.

IT NEVER rains but it pours - and with the summer weather proving a washout more Irish people than ever are snapping up the opportunity to grab their place in the sun.

Welshman Phillip Price was today celebrating shedding the tag of Europe’s ‘nearly man’ after his stunning victory in the Algarve Portuguese Open.

Welshman Phillip Price ended a seven-year wait for his second European Tour title with a brilliant victory in the Algarve Portuguese Open at Quinta do Lago.

Latest leading positions in final round of Algarve Portuguese Open, Quinta do Lago (Gbr & Irl unless stated, Par 72)

Former Ryder Cup player David Gilford is on course for his first tournament win in almost seven years in the Algarve Portuguese Open.

Portuguese Leaderboard

Padraig Harrington found his overnight lead quickly halved in the early stages of the third round of the Algarve Portuguese Open.

Padraig Harrington was today aiming to take a major step towards securing his Ryder Cup place in the Algarve Portuguese Open at Quinta do Lago.

Ireland’s Paul McGinley made a flying start to his opening round in the Algarve Portuguese Open at Quinta do Lago.

Colin Montgomerie is aiming to put his Masters misery behind him in the Algarve Portuguese Open at Quinta do Lago.