Sergio Garcia enhanced his already well-endowed coffers by as much as £1 million, by capturing the Murphy's Irish Open at Druids Glen on Sunday. That will be the pay-off from the various endorsement deals he signed up for when turning professional in April.

One of the most significant benefits of his victory, however, is that it brought him to 80th in the world rankings. And the expectation is that he will be in the leading 25 by the end of the year.

Though he must have mentioned about four or five sponsors' names when interviewed on RTE in the wake of Sunday's success, his most lucrative contract is a five-year shoe and clothing deal with Adidas, worth about $7 million. Then there is a ball contract with Titleist and a club contract with Cobra, all of which carried huge bonus clauses for his first win.

His timing was also admirable, certainly from Murphy's perspective. But from a personal standpoint, Garcia was thrilled to have achieved a breakthrough victory on the same day that Tiger Woods captured the Western Open at Cog Hill.

Garcia has pledged to return to defend the title, aware that there will be no appearance money, in accordance with a new policy adopted by the sponsors. He appreciated getting a sponsor's invitation as an amateur last year and also made a point of highlighting the fact that the first tournament invitation he received as a professional 10 weeks ago, was from the Irish Open.

But he will be back here within a month, competing in the Smurfit European Open at The K Club over the August Bank Holiday weekend. In fact by then, he could be collecting the necessary points to guarantee automatic selection on the Ryder Cup team. In the meantime, he is competing in the Standard Life Loch Lomond Tournament, starting tomorrow.

As to whether John Daly returns for a third challenge at the Irish Open, however, is an issue of considerable doubt. "We were more than pleased with the tremendous lift he gave the tournament on Thursday and Friday," said Murphy's official Paddy Rossi, though the American went on to finish second last after closing rounds of 81 and 74.

Indeed his current behaviour is so unpredictable that sponsors would have to think seriously about investing £100,000 in his appearance fee.

Meanwhile, Murphy's must now look to next year's event and a move to a new venue. And it is clear that they cannot rely on a positive response from Ballybunion GC, even though the club re-opened an internal discussion on the matter last night. Either way, their reaction is being viewed with dismay by local business people.

"We're very disappointed at the club's reluctance to welcome what would be a tremendous boost for the town," said Bernard O'Sullivan, marketing manager of Ballybunion's 100-bedroom Golf Hotel yesterday. "The Irish Open would be worth an additional £50,000 revenue to us next year, but it seems that there's a group of people within the club who don't want the event to happen."

Meanwhile, Murphy's could find themselves caught between two stools. Should Ballybunion come up with a final "no" on the issue, they will be left with little time to look elsewhere. But they are not without options.

I understand that they have approached Portmarnock in recent weeks, clearly in the belief that in the absence of appearance money, they will need an attractive venue to draw a strong field.

There is also the option of Adare Manor, an outstanding venue which wasn't quite ready when first considered by Murphy's a few years ago. And they could look to Fota Island, which will soon be open for play after major restructuring. Or they could remain at Druids Glen for a fifth successive year.

It is certainly interesting that after absenting himself from Druids Glen, Darren Clarke could not have been happier with his week's golf. "I shot 23 under par for four rounds at Royal Portrush, which I consider to be perfect preparation for the Open," he said yesterday.

In the meantime, he will be among seven Irish challengers at the Loch Lomond tournament which ends on Saturday so as to allow players compete in Final Qualifying for the British Open, starting on Sunday. The full Irish entry is: Clarke, Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley, Philip Walton, Des Smyth, Eamonn Darcy and John McHenry.

The only Irish players exempt into the British Open are Smyth, who was tied 14th at Royal Birkdale last year, and Clarke, who gets in through last year's Order of Merit and the current world rankings.