Baker-Finch on the long road back

Later this week, the forgotten man of golf will stand on a tee for the first time in five months and know he is playing for his living. Ian Baker-Finch hasn't played a competitive round since walking away from Royal Troon in ignominy in July, after shooting a first round of 92 in the British Open, but the Australian has decided to use a tournament virtually in his own back yard as the starting point for his second coming. Baker-Finch, who seemed to have the world at his feet when winning the British Open at Royal Birkdale in 1991, has been working as a television commentator in recent weeks. However, he has decided to play in the Schweppes Coolum Classic in Queensland as part of his golfing rehabilitation. "It's not a comeback, just a game between friends," he insisted.

Yet, it is the first step towards a possible return to the circuit. Baker-Finch has been in a sort of limbo since his traumatic experience in Troon, and he admits to being some way from the form he considers necessary to compete "I have no thoughts yet about next year's British Open. I would love to play, to go back to the scene of the crime. But I'm not going to say I will come back for it. The big mistake I made, perhaps the only one in hindsight, was that I didn't want to miss the British Open this year. I'd only just started reshaping my swing and it was too soon. I knew it, my coach Gary Edwin knew it, and my friends knew it. But nobody could talk me out of it," he said.

Baker-Finch has laid low since his Troon experience. "I'm practising a little bit every day and thinking about it a lot," he said. "Next year I will play a lot more. The best way is to play every day. The feel will come back and the intensity and the nerves will die away. I do want to play. I don't want to give it all away. If I had wanted to retire, I would have done it a couple of years ago."

He continued: "My swing is on the mend. I'm at the stage where I can stand on the tee with a couple of good thoughts and know I'll hit it in the fairway. But it is still not automatic."

The event in Queensland is run on a pro-am format, which prompted him to choose it as his return to competition. "I'm just going out to play and have fun," he insisted. "I'm not playing too badly for a part-time player and I accept I'm not ready to go out and match it with the top players." Baker-Finch got a good view of what faces him in Queensland when filling the role of television commentator at the New Zealand Open in Auckland last weekend, where he saw Greg Turner retain his crown and become the first New Zealander since Ernie Moss in 1924 to win the title over that particular course. Turner shot a final round 69 for a ten-under par aggregate 278 to win by seven shots.

Phil Mickelson has ended speculation about a switch to Ping by renewing his sponsorship deals with Yonex and Titleist, with whom he has been associated since turning professional.

European Seniors' Tour player Dr Arthur Spring very nearly fulfilled a personal ambition when playing in the Wings Charity outing at Connemara last week.

The Kerryman's second shot to the par five 18th finished on the edge of the green and he needed to get down in two to record a personal best nine birdies in one round. However, upon arriving at his ball, he discovered it a foot off the putting surface with a large worm cast six inches from the ball. He used his putter, but the ball jumped and finished up three feet from the hole and he missed the putt back.

Tom "Pablo" Collins, a prominent member of Limerick Golf Club, has decided to make the ultimate sacrifice and shave off half of his moustache in a sponsored bid to raise funds for the Fr Gerry Daly Christmas Appeal. Initially, a £100 bet with workmates in Electrical Rewinds was the motivation but it snowballed and he hopes to raise over £1,000 for his charitable deed. Queries/donations to Grainne Lehane 061417444.