Baltray defies the weather Gods

THE clerk of the weather did all in his power to destroy the 3 Irish Open and inflict untold damage on it for many years to come.

But he had reckoned without the resilience of the Irish people and most especially the courage of a young man from Clara, Co Offaly, who transformed what might well have been a sporting disaster into an enormous triumph for all concerned.

Never mind that the rain lashed down and the wind howled, that the public car parks had to be closed and the fans bussed to Baltray from miles away and a total of seven hours were lost to the conditions over the weekend.

As if nothing like this was happening, golf lovers in the northeast were joined by thousands from all over the country until some 20,000 were lining the fairways as the leaders came down the stretch on Sunday evening.

As Darren Clarke commented: “You wouldn’t get support like this in any other country in the world.”

As I trained my eye over the scene on Sunday afternoon and watched the masses swarming all over the imposing Baltray dunes and enjoying themselves whether the sun was shining or the rain falling, I cast my mind back to the halcyon days of Seve and Langer and Woosie in the 1980s and realised that the great old championship was back to where it should always have been.

Clarke also made the point that, without any criticism of the many wonderful parkland courses that have hosted the championship over the years, the Irish Open is in its natural habitat when it is held by the sea. “It has to be a links,” he insisted, and given how blessed the country is in this regard, it is impossible to argue.

Will it return to Baltray for a third time next year? Clarke believes it should and you can easily see why but you suspect the club members may have something to say about that. Considering that their fine practice ground – used for the tented village during the Open – was little more than a quagmire on Sunday night and won’t quickly recover and the many other inconveniences associated with the running of such a major event, any misgivings they might have are understandable.

On the other hand their great links will always be remembered as the home of one of a huge achievement in Irish sport and not just golf.

The debate about the most suitable date will continue over the coming weeks and months with a change to mid-summer very much on the cards. Robert Finnegan, CEO of 3, will be central to the negotiations as will European Tour chiefs George O’Grady and Keith Waters, both of whom are well aware of the sponsors’ views on the subject.

Whatever the outcome, Finnegan, his company’s golf consultant John McHenry, and all at the mobile phone company must be ecstatic at how well their initial sponsorship transpired despite the dreadful weather. They put not only their cheque book but all their energies into making the tournament as enjoyable as possible for players and spectators alike and were magnificently rewarded. It was quite emotional to see the support young Shane Lowry enjoyed throughout a long and nerve wracking six hours ordeal on Sunday and how joyously his many fans swarmed on to the 18th green when he finally got the job done.

Nothing became Rory McIlroy more than the manner in which he joined in the fun. Having “borrowed” a bottle of champagne from a hospitality tent, he sprinted down to the final green so as to be present when his former amateur partner finished. It wasn’t needed then but he did whisper in Lowry’s ear “don’t worry, you’re still going to win” as Lowry made his way to the scorer’s tent and he was still there an hour later when his words came to pass. Rory then went to the press tent where he bought several bottles of the bubbly stuff for the media on Shane’s behalf.

Lowry will have at least one very sound friend on Tour when he dips his toe in the professional waters!

However on reflection, though, you have to wonder where the 3 Irish Open would have stood without the awesome presence of the affable midlander. With due respect to Robert Rock and Johan Edfors, it would have been a pretty dull afternoon had they been fighting it out between them for the half million euro winners prize without an Irishman or big name player of any nature within touching distance.

Quite frankly, on this occasion our professionals were a dismal failure. True, Pádraig Harrington got a dreadful deal from the weather and did well to shoot three under par. But it wasn’t enough to make the cut. Michael Hoey was disqualified for having a club too many in his bag. Graeme McDowell staggered us all with that record breaking 61, an improvement of 16 on his first round, but he limped out of the championship the following morning.

Of the other five to make the cut, Clarke was best in 14th followed by Gary Murphy 25th, McIlroy in 50th, Damien McGrane in 57th and Paul McGinley 67th. In many ways their blushes were saved by Lowry but they can expect no such comfort when they tackle the “Burma Road” at Wentworth this week for the BMW PGA Championship, the European Tour’s flagship tournament.

Incidentally, the Tour’s handling of the difficult circumstances prevailing at Baltray have come under focus.

Many Co Louth members believe that by moving so many tees forward and putting the pins in the most favourable places on the greens, they made their proud links something of a pitch and putt course, an argument supported by the fact that McDowell shot 61, Lowry 62 and Francesco Molinari 63 over the opening two days.

Nor did a winning total of -17 sit too well with the Baltray people.

While understanding those views, it has to be agreed that tournament director David Probyn did exceptionally well to get the event finished on time considering all the problems he had to face and overcome. And just as important, I heard nothing but praise for the links from all the players with Clarke adamant that it should return to Baltray next year.