Irish golfers target Ryder Cup points in Paris

WHILE Pádraig Harrington and Paul McGinley begin their quest for Ryder Cup points in the Lancome Trophy in Paris, Darren Clarke will be making a very rare appearance in a Challenge Tour event in the north of Ireland.

He has agreed to take part in the inaugural €211,000 Benmore Developments Northern Ireland Masters at Clandeboye near Bangor, Co Down. Clarke has agreed to donate any prize money he may earn to the golf foundation he himself has set up to assist the country’s most promising young golfers.

Harrington and McGinley missed out on the first Ryder Cup points event, the Swiss Masters, at the weekend after which Scotland’s Andrew Coltart, the Italian Emanuel Cononica and Robert Karlsson of Sweden lead the table with €67,946. However, that is a mere pittance in comparison with what will be required to make the team at Oakland Hills, Michigan, next September.

Harrington makes his first appearance since the US PGA Championship but is now preparing himself for a length and hopefully profitable spell of tournaments.

McGinley, fresh from his impressive victory in the Smurfit IPGA Championship at the weekend, also intends to accrue as many cup points as possible as quickly as possible.

The other Irishmen involved in the Lancome, which is being held for the last time this year, are Philip Walton, Peter Lawrie, Gary Murphy and Damien McGrane.

Ben Curtis, the shock winner of the British Open in July, makes his first appearance in a European Tour event and Lee Westwood, who ended a three year barren spell by winning in Munich a fortnight ago, Colin Montgomerie and Retief Goosen are also in the field.