Father-to-be leaves mother of all shots to rival

ONE man dropped his wife off at the maternity ward and returned to play his round of golf, but even he couldn’t upstage mobile phone magnate Denis O’Brien — who had the mother of all chip shots.

The multi-millionaire former owner of ESAT hit the most wayward shot of the day at the JP McManus Pro-Am in Adare, crashing his ball into a chip van off the course, scattering the surrounding crowds and the servers inside the van. No doubt he'll blame it on a bad connection or maybe it was a poor line.

As politicians and pros mixed on the fairways at Adare, ordinary punters got to show their wares too provided they paid €100,000 a team. Some of the richest players in the world have come to Limerick to give not just their money, but also their time. The event is expected to raise more than €30m for charity.

One man who was giving his time under exceptional pressure yesterday was Robert Keane not the footballer, but a namesake from Ardnacrusha, in Limerick. Robert's wife Sarah, a 27-year-old fashion manager at Brown Thomas in Limerick, was admitted to the labour ward in the Mid-West Regional Hospital in Limerick, but she insisted that Robbie keep his golf appointment in Adare.

Robert, who works for a local wine company, played with the Association of Spina Bifida team, and was thinking of his wife as he completed his round with professional, Paul McGinley.

Course Superintendent, Joe O'Flaherty was dosing himself with painkillers as he worked with his green keepers. Last week he badly damaged a tendon in his left leg in an over-35 soccer game in Adare.

Joe said: "The surgeon in Croom orthopaedic hospital said I needed to have surgery but I told him it would have to wait. He put my left leg in a cast and I will go in to have the operation as soon as the tournament is over.

More than 20,000 lined the fairways along the majestic banks of the River Maigue yesterday to watch Tiger Woods and a battalion of top US golfers hit the fairways, along with 150 club golfers who formed teams to play with the pros.

Peter Cosgrave was among the crowd and he got the scoop of the day. Just as Tiger Woods was about to tee off, his caddy, Steve Williams, reached into the crowd and brought Peter, a Down Syndrome teenager, forward for a picture he will cherish always.

The caddy had seen Peter's dad, Michael John, trying to catch Tiger's attention and stepped in to create one of those special, magic moments.

In a way it summed up what this event is about magnificent generosity.

Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny was upstaged by one of his front bench team, Phil Hogan. The Kilkenny TD was on the team paired with Tiger Woods.

Party leader Kenny had to make do with Mark O'Meara, a former winner of the British Open and the US Masters.

Finance Minister, Brian Cowan did not do as well as the Fine Gael boys and was drawn to play with professional Greg Owen, a journeyman pro.

Thomas Bjorn who had a disastrous three-ball visit to the Liffey at the K-Club on Sunday, is teamed up today with the captain of Adare Manor Hotel golf course, Limerick builder, Robert Butler.

The two-day golf classic concludes tonight with the charity bash of the year featuring a platinum-card auction.

The golfers will be feted at a sumptuous gala dinner which will be followed by an auction which is likely to raise millions for the golf classic's charity fund.