NOT once since the event began in 1927 has an Irishman captained a Britain & Ireland or Europe Ryder Cup team.

Golfing hero Darren Clarke returned home today to deliver the game’s biggest prize to his two sons – the Open Championship trophy.

TIME will tell whether Rory McIlroy was correct to take a three-week break between his US Open victory and the British Open, which starts at Royal St Georges, Sandwich, on Thursday.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON believes a return to links golf in the Scottish Highlands this week will provide the ideal preparation for his bid to capture a third British Open in five years later this month.

NIALL TURNER, the former Muskerry golfer was last night left to rue four bogeys he simply couldn’t afford to concede if he was to come through yesterday’s final qualifying rounds for the British Open Championship.

THE companies that declined title sponsorship of the Irish Open must be kicking themselves given the hype and build up to next month’s tournament in Killarney.

THERE will be a welcome addition to the Irish Open line-up at Killarney next month when the US Open trophy makes an appearance alongside its owner Rory McIlroy.

RORY MCILROY ended a rollercoaster season on a high note when he spectacularly eagled the last from three feet to finish fifth in the Dubai World Championship.

AS always after an Open Championship, especially one at St Andrews, there are many talking points.

MICHAEL DURCAN, the big hope of Ireland, bowed out of the Boys Amateur Championship at Royal St Georges, Sandwich yesterday after a tense battle with crack French teenager Gary Stal.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy has set his sights on Tiger Woods' course record in the Irish Close at the European Club.

AS Paul McGinley and co play for the £1 million first prize in the HSBC World Match Play Championship at Wentworth, other matters are taxing the minds of hundreds of hopefuls all over Europe.

TWO great old warriors waged a titanic struggle in yesterday's Munster final of the Bulmers Irish Senior Cup at Muskerry before Dermot Morris carried the day for Limerick Golf Club by getting home at the third extra hole against Tom Cleary of Cork Golf Club.

TIGER WOODS, the 2/1 pre-tournament favourite, yesterday made his worst ever start to a major championship and is in danger of missing his first cut after 36 appearances as a professional.

AS Jack Nicklaus finally departs the scene he has graced for so long, Tiger Woods stands poised to narrow the majors gap on the Golden Bear when the 134th Open Championship dawns at 6.30 this morning.

IF ONE of the record number of 20 Europeans competing win the Masters this weekend, it would be the first time one of their number triumphed in a major since 1999.

THE many who believe Europe will have an even stronger team in the 2006 Ryder Cup match at The K-Club had their view strengthened at Mount Juliet over the weekend when Thomas Bjorn made such a dramatic return to top form.

ERNIE ELS and Vijay Singh are right on his heels and could overtake him on Sunday night but Tiger Woods has now equalled Greg Norman's record of 331 successive weeks as the world number one.

THE WINNER of the 133rd Open at Royal Troon maintained the American dominance of the Championship.

FIRST, it was Ben Curtis in the 2003 Open Championship at Royal St Georges. Then came Shaun Micheel a few months later in the US PGA Championship at Oak Hill.

EMBARRASSING. That's the best word to describe the failure of Europe's best to capture the Open Championship or indeed any major title since 1999.

WHETHER it comes from spending four years at college in the US or not, Graeme McDowell is full of positive thoughts going into his first major championship.

AND so we come to the third major of the year and, by and large, the one I like most.

THE NISSAN Irish Open Championship received a significant boost yesterday with the confirmation that Jesper Parnevik and Luke Donald will both be in the field at Co Louth Golf Club, Baltray, on July 22-25.

WEDDING bells are in the air for Ireland’s emerging professionals. Peter Lawrie tied the knot last week and Gary Murphy weds Elaine (a niece of well-known amateur star Barry Reddan) five days after Christmas.

JIM Furyk, Kenny Perry, Phil Mickelson, David Toms and Davis Love have all followed Tiger Woods in turning down the chance to win the £1million (€1.43m) first prize — the second biggest in golf – at the HSBC World Matchplay Championship at Wentworth in two weeks’ time.

RICH BEEM started the trend a year ago in the USPGA Championship at Hazeltine.

THERE is no end to the number of shock winners golf is producing these days, but none of them hail from our side of the globe.

FOR 12 of the last 15 champions of the US PGA, it was their first time winning a major championship.

THOMAS BJORN goes into the US PGA with a ringing endorsement from his European colleague and close friend Darren Clarke.

ON Wednesday, Thomas Bjorn talked about getting back on the horse as quickly as possible after his fall at the 16th in the final round of the British Open.

THOMAS BJORN envisages the night when he wakes up and sees a golf ball rolling at him like the biggest snowball in the world.

THE GREAT Tom Watson once said a links without a wind is like a woman unclothed no challenge!

Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn is consoled by USA’s Davis Love III after being pipped by a shot on the final round of the British Open.

THOSE cynics among you who don't believe in fairy-tales will have to think again. Before a ball was struck at Royal St Georges on Thursday, nobody on this side of the Atlantic had ever heard of Ben Curtis.

A GLORIOUS golfing week continues uninterrupted for Gary Murphy.

HENNIE OTTO is the distinctly unlikely name at the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the 132nd Open Championship at Royal St Georges.

The omens are still good for this year’s Irish quartet and especially the in-form Darren Clarke and Pádraig Harrington.

TIGER WOODS had journalists covering the British Open scratching their heads on Tuesday wondering whether he had taken an astonishing swipe at 1999 Carnoustie winner Paul Lawrie of Scotland.

THOSE people unwise enough to write off Tiger Woods after his failure in the Masters and US Open may have large doses of humble pie as part of their diet by the end of next week.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON punched the air in relief, Michael Smurfit looked to the heavens with an expression of the deepest gratitude and the crowd roared their approval.