Irish lured by Masters magic

HAVING cavorted around the world since early January, the European Tour finally returns to its roots this week with the €2.5m British Masters getting under way at the Forest of Arden this morning.

Both the venue and the tournament have been good to the Irish over the years and with eight of our golfers facing the starter, there is every hope that the first prize of €417,000 could well be snapped up by the likes of Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley, to name but two of the octet.

The event always had a special appeal here in Ireland, not least because in 1959 at Portmarnock Christy O’Connor Senior and Joe Carr played out one of the most dramatic finishes in the history of golf in these islands.