Higgins receives guest invitation for Irish Open

Better late than never, David Higgins yesterday got his guest invitation to the gathering he didn't want to miss. Unable to get a place in the field for this week's Irish Open at Adare Manor on his tour ranking, and then missing out on the top-10 position in last week's Andalucia Open which would have given him another route in, Higgins was finally put out of his misery when given a late sponsor's invite to compete in the €2.5 million tournament which starts on Thursday.

Higgins is currently 221st on the European Tour money list, having made just three cuts in seven appearances. However, his tied-18th place finish in Andalucia - won by Lee Westwood, who is also playing at Adare - represented Higgins's best performance of the year. Two other Irish players, Noel Fox and Michael Hoey, have also received sponsor's invites to play in the tournament.

Darren Clarke, who was forced to withdraw from The Players after just six holes of his first round last Thursday, is due to make a decision on his participation today. Clarke has been troubled by a hamstring injury for the past month and was also forced out of the previous week's Wachovia championship in America.

The player has been advised by his doctor that rest is the only cure for the deep-rooted strain.

Padraig Harrington, who has dropped one place to 12th in the latest world rankings, will be the highest-ranked player in the field at Adare Manor which also includes the former US Open champion Michael Campbell and Thomas Bjorn, who is defending the title he won at Carton House last year. A €1 million bonus is on offer should the winner of this week's tournament go on to also win next week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.