Fair play on the fairways is par for the course

TEEMING with tanned, fit talent, soaked in sunshine and rife with goodwill, there was something for everyone in the audience on the first day of the JP McManus Pro Am where starlets and Ordinary Joes combined forces for the greater good.

If most of the top names were well off the pace, at least one hard hitter proved he could still smoke up the greens – literally. John Daly puffed his way around the fairways of Adare proving darts is not the only sport where a few cigs are par for the course.

Hangovers were also rumoured. Hugh Grant, hiding behind a giant pair of shades, obligingly signed a few autographs having missed his morning tee-off. He set out instead after lunch with Sandy Lyle.