Paddy Keane: ‘If there’s wind off the sea and you need a birdie to win, the 18th green is going to be like a pinhead’

There is no escaping the sense of excitement and expectation not just amongst the members of Lahinch Golf Club but also the whole of the village and West Clare in general as the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Championship looms this week.

It’s when you climb to the top of the hill after leaving Ennistymon that one appreciates the transformation that has taken place in and around this small village on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.