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.