Stars on the ball to raising E30m for charities

Jimmy Woulfe, Mid-East Correspondent

Earlier yesterday, a judge in the Circuit Civil Court ordered the return of the U2 star’s trousers in an action taken against a former employee of the band. And, in Adare last night, a jacket belonging to Bono, which he wore at the Grammy Awards ceremony, was one of the many lots auctioned at a gala banquet following the McManus Golf Classic.

The two-day event is expected to raise up to E30 million for charities in the mid-west.

Three previous McManus golf classics have raised almost E25m.

For the second day running more than 25,000 people lined the fairways at the Adare Manor Hotel and resort golf club.

Tiger Woods was again the biggest crowd puller.

He was teamed up with three members of the Smurfit family, Michael Jnr, Tony and their sister Sharon O’Brien.

Their proud dad, Dr Michael Smurfit, kept a close eye on the fourball.

Dr Smurfit remarked: “At the last JP Pro-Am the Smurfit team also drew to play with Tiger. To get Tiger two events in a row is just brilliant.”

Daragh Madigan, from Rosbrien in Limerick, got probably the closest look at the great Tiger during his two rounds of golf.

Daragh, who plays off a handicap of six, was selected to carry the marker board with the players’ names.

The 15-year-old said: “Tiger gave me the ball he played with and signed it as well.”

Sharon O’Brien’s husband, Jack, said his wife was not fazed in the least at playing in front of a huge gallery.

“Sharon is a cool customer,” said the Dublin solicitor.

Tiger had an early start yesterday morning, when he left Adare Manor to do a work-out at the gym in a nearby hotel, the Woodlands.

The owner of the Woodlands Hotel, Dick Fitzgerald, said they were delighted when the golfer walked in and asked to used their health centre facilities.

Before setting out on his round of golf yesterday, Tiger told journalists he and the other professional golfers had come to Adare to raise a “bunch of money” for the charities supported by the JP McManus classic.

“When JP asks you to do something, you can’t wait to do it. This is all for him. We come here as friends not as top golfers.”

He said his wife Elin could not make it to Adare as she was visiting her own family in Sweden.

“This is the only fine week of the year they get in Sweden,” joked Tiger.

Last night Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and five Government ministers were among the 1,200 guests at the gala banquet which featured an auction for items including Bono’s jacket, an Aston Martin sports car and rounds of golf with Tiger Woods and supermodel Jodie Kidd.

However, many of the professional golfers had left Adare last night and were on their way to Scotland to prepare for the Scottish Open later in the week.