Excitement builds as Killarney waits to welcome boy wonder

TWENTY years ago, PJ Carroll, the then sponsors of the tournament, invested a considerable sum of money in attracting Payne Stewart to compete in the Irish Open Championship at Killarney.

The popular American — who sadly died in a freak air accident in 1999 — had won the US Open at Hazeltine the previous week and at the time commanded a hefty appearance fee.

However, an indication of how times have changed for the better for Irish golf comes with the presence in the 2011 field of the immediate past and current reigning US Open champions — and they’re not costing the organisers an extra cent.