Darcy elbows his way to the front

It may not have been pretty, but the strap wrapped around his forearm didn't unduly bother him. But then, why should it? Just before Christmas, at a stage when Eamonn Darcy - having lost his tour card for the first time in over 20 years - didn't think things could get any worse, they did.

Some robust rein-pulling from his horse while out hunting resulted in a severe case of tennis elbow, and the golfer had reason to worry that his already limited tournament schedule would be even further hampered.

"I tried laser, even some acupuncture, in an attempt to ease the pain, but the relief just tends to last for three or four days," Darcy said.

Yesterday, in the splendour of the Emirates course, he discovered that a good round of golf is probably the best medicine of all. "I put on this strap and it has helped, but there is still a lot of pain on impact when I'm hitting the ball. There's pain on every shot except when I'm using the putter. It's very sore."

Because of the injury, Darcy's preparations for his season-opening appearance in Dubai (on a course where he won this tournament in 1990) haven't been what he would have liked. He estimates that he has played probably six full rounds in the past four months, while, even on the practise range, he has limited himself to hitting 30 or 40 balls so as not to aggravate the problem.

So, perhaps, the adage "beware the injured golfer" had some merit in Darcy's case. After an uneventful first nine holes, Darcy caught fire on the way home with four birdies that enabled him to sign for a four-under-par 68, four shots adrift of pace-setters Thomas Bjorn and Tiger Woods.

Rather than a grimace of pain, Darcy's face afterwards had a wide grin. "I'm delighted with that," he said, as if the contentment wasn't obvious.

Although he no longer has a tour card, and the countdown to playing on the lucrative US Seniors Tour in two years edges ever closer, Darcy expects to play up to 20 tournaments on the European Tour this season.

"I've entered into 20 events, and I expect to play in 20 events . . . if this injury holds off," said Darcy.

There's something about Dubai that brings out the best in him, however. As a past winner, he didn't have to go to the hassle of seeking a sponsor's invitation. And, despite the inadequacies of his preparations, he rediscovered the timing and rhythm which he had displayed in securing a top-10 finish in the Turespana Masters and a top-20 position in the Italian Open last season in his last two tournaments in that desperate, but ultimately vain, attempt to retain his card.

Yesterday, having started on the 10th, his only bogey came at the 16th where he three-putted. However, a birdie at the 18th led to a birdie streak of sorts. He tapped in from just 12 inches at the first and from two feet at the second, then rolled in a five-footer at the fifth and an eight-footer at the sixth. "I just kept thinking of how well I was playing at the end of last season, and just tried to get that rhythm," said Darcy.

The trick is to keep it going.