Ebihara full of Eastern promise

IRISH/Irish Seniors Open: All round, there were older imitators of the Smilin' Assassin, the name handed to Shigeki Maruyama on the US Tour. Indeed, Seiji Ebihara, his compatriot from Japan, sported a smile as broad as the bridge over the River Maigue, which acts as a natural water hazard to the 18th green, in demonstrating his own predatory instincts in shooting a remarkable six-under-par 66 in the first round of the AIB Irish Seniors Open at Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort yesterday.

Fittingly, on a day when Ireland's soccer hopes flew eastwards in search of World Cup glory, Ebihara, the defending champion, brought some eastern promise to a venue that, even on a grey old day, could have been plucked from paradise.

Inspired by the setting, the new grandfather had the audacity to cover the back nine in a mere 30 strokes, featuring a run of six birdies in seven holes. By the day's end, he held a two stroke lead over a trio of pursuers.

Denis O'Sullivan was among the chasers, and another with a smile on his face. A career amateur until turning professional shortly before his 50th birthday, the Corkman has enjoyed a new lease of golfing life and, last year, for the second successive year, he won twice on the circuit.

Yesterday, O'Sullivan's new fitness regime - and the arrival of a new Ping TiSiTech driver - reaped benefits as he led the home challenge.

In fact, O'Sullivan was regularly longer off the tee than his playing partner, and pre-tournament favourite, Bruce Fleisher. The American had a disappointing round of 74 that could have been even worse, but he rescued it with a run of three successive birdies from the 15th. Fleisher, though, wasn't the only one to struggle.

Christy O'Connor Jnr had a 73 - including a double-bogey on the 17th, where he snap-hooked his drive into heavy rough and was forced to take a penalty drop - while Tommy Horton, who has topped the Seniors Tour moneylist on five occasions, had a nightmare run of bogey-bogey-double bogey-bogey-bogey-double bogey from the fourth hole to the turn on the way to an opening 80.

There were no such problems for Ebihara, who won this title (his first on the European Seniors Tour) at Powerscourt last year. The Japanese player divides his time between playing in Japan and Europe and, yesterday, with his daughter Akiko as caddie, he produced a stunning round. Having covered the front nine in level par, with no indication of the fireworks that were to come, Ebihara's round exploded on the 11th, where he holed a 50 footer for birdie.

That birdie started a run of four successive birdies and, after a par at the 15th, he then grabbed back-to-back birdies at the 16th and 17th.

O'Sullivan, who was in a three-way tie in second with Americans John Grace and Hank Woodrome, suffered only one bogey - at the eighth, where a rare blip off the tee in to rough resulted in him missing his only green - in a superbly crafted round that featured five birdies.

Of the other home challengers, there was also an impressive round from Clare-born Joe McDermott, who had a 69. "I came here with no great expectations. How could you, in a field that includes guys like Fleisher? " said McDermott.

Meanwhile, next year's Irish Open will not be played in Northern Ireland. When Murphy's announced last month that they were pulling out as title sponsors after this year's event at Fota Island, there was speculation that the tournament could move north in 2002. David Linnane, the tournament director, confirmed that negotiations did take place with parties in the North but has revealed that the event will be staying in the Republic next year, although a venue - and new sponsor - has yet to be decided upon.