Coughlan to rise in East

Ireland's top three professionals - Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley - wing their way in the direction of the International Date Line this week in pursuit of further honours. At the other end of the scale, Richard Coughlan, who has failed to secure a place in the US Tour's final qualifying school, must now come to terms with the prospect of some globetrotting of his own in his quest to maintain a competitive edge in his fledgling career. Clarke, who was yesterday named as the European Tour's "golfer of the month" for October, competes in the Taiheiyo Masters in Japan, starting on Thursday, while Harrington and McGinley, who both competed in the Sarazen World Open in Atlanta at the weekend, continue their journey on to New Zealand where they will defend their World Cup title next week.

In sharp contrast, Coughlan's failure to survive the US Tour's PreQualifying II at Grenelefe resort in Florida (he missed out by two shots) means he won't be at the final school at La Quinta, California, next week where Keith Nolan will be the lone Irishman in pursuit of a US Tour card for 1999.

It was a particularly disappointing end to Coughlan's rookie season given that the 24-year-old Offaly man had finished in 151st in the moneylist, one place outside an automatic return to final qualifying which would have the guaranteed fringe benefit of a Nike Tour card.

"He'll bounce back, he's that sort of resilient character," claimed Coughlan's manager, Johnny Whitmore. Indeed, player and manager plan to sit down within the next couple of weeks to review their options and work out a plan of campaign for next year.

The early indications are that Coughlan will probably head off to Malaysia after Christmas to play there.

There is also the possibility of playing on the Canadian Tour (where the qualifying school is not until next May) as well as pursuing sponsors' invites to tournaments in the United States, on the regular and Nike tour, and in Europe, too, where he should certainly receive invitations to the Murphy's Irish Open and the Smurfit European Open.

"We view this as a short-term setback," added Whitmore. "There is nothing on earth like golf, where there is such a thin line, where something like one putt can make such a difference. Richie has a number of options and we'll assess them, but the important thing is for him to keep playing highly-competitive golf.

"Golf is a long road and he has a long career in front of him. Over in the States he is regarded as something special and anyone who has come into contact with him views him as a player with a lot of talent."

However, it would seem that Coughlan will be campaigning for the most part in Asia and Canada next year as he seeks to get his career back on the right path.

Clarke, already near the top of the professional ladder, travels to the Far East this week as part of his attempt to improve his world ranking and also to win tournaments away from Europe.

His victory in the Volvo Masters two weeks ago, where he shot a course-equalling 63 in the final round, has been recognised by his selection as player of the month for October.

The list of winners of the award this year is impressive: Thomas Bjorn, Jose Maria Olazabal, Ernie Els, Thomas Levet, Colin Montgomerie, Sam Torrance, David Carter and Mathias Gronberg It is a measure of Clarke's new status that he has undertaken the trip to Japan, where he will play in two tournaments, the Taiheiyo Masters this week and the Dunlop Phoenix tournament next week, with a view to achieving back-to-back tournament wins following his Volvo Masters success in Montecastillo which enabled him to leapfrog over his friend Lee Westwood into second place in the Order of Merit behind Colin Montgomerie.

Harrington and McGinley are also traversing the globe as they near the conclusion of their playing year. Both are taking a few days' break in the United States this week before heading on for the defence of the World Cup in Auckland next week.

Meanwhile, Raymond Burns, who failed to retain his European Tour card this season and who failed to get through Pre-Qualifying II, will compete on the Challenge Tour next season.

In a report in last Saturday's edition, it was stated that the British and Irish team had been withdrawn from this week's women's world amateur team championship in Chile by "the (British) Ladies Golfing Union". This should have read Ladies Golfing Union as the Irish Ladies Golf Union is an integral part of the body.