Island in the sun is the `perfect venue'

In Paul McGinley's words, it's "the perfect venue," and certainly the Island Golf Club - bathed yesterday in rather untypical October sunshine, and with hardly a breath of wind to trouble those souls involved in the pro-am - looks set to provide a fitting, if demanding, stage for the Smurfit Irish PGA Championship, which starts at the north Dublin links today.

Sentiment doesn't hold much credence in professional golf. If it did, then Philip Walton, an honorary member of the host club, would probably be under starter's orders to collect a fifth national title. His season to date, however, which leaves him with no way out of a first ever visit to next month's European Tour final qualifying school in Spain, suggests he will need to dig deep into his past exploits to pull off such a feat.

Even so, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley - two of the favourites for the crown - reckon that the Malahide native knows the course so well, and will be inspired by playing it, which makes him a very real threat.

"Philip's probably the man to beat," opined Clarke, while McGinley claimed: "He knows this place like the back of his hand, he has to be one of the favourites."

Such words should serve as a source of encouragement to Walton, and he admitted: "It's great to be playing an important tournament over a links course that I love. I've been looking forward to it for a long time. It's almost like playing in my own backyard."

Indeed, Walton is a familiar figure on the practice ground at the Donabate course, in good times and bad, and won't be complaining if it provides a belated kickstart to his season.

In truth, one of the tour players should win. The only club professional to gatecrash the system in the past 15 years is, ironically enough, Martin Sludds, a former member of the Island and now resident professional at Enniscorthy.

Otherwise, the roll of honour is like a "who's who" of Irish golf with Des Smyth, Eamonn Darcy, Walton, Clarke and McGinley, all of whom are competing over the next four days, among the winners.

There were two defections yesterday. David Jones, a former winner, has been advised by his doctor to rest a back injury, while David Higgins got a late call-up to the final Challenge Tour event at Disneyland, Paris, and decided to accept.

"This has the potential to be a really great championship," enthused McGinley, despite his relative unfamiliarity with the course. In fact, his last full competitive round - prior to yesterday's pro-am - was back in his amateur days "some 10 years ago" in an Aer Lingus youths' tournament. On that occasion, he partnered Leslie Walker (now an assistant professional at Foxrock) and, surprise, surprise, the pair are paired together for the first two rounds.

McGinley, winner in 1997, and Clarke, a victor in 1994, are unquestionably the two "big guns" in the championship. But Smyth showed his liking for the course in winning the Links outing last week and followed up with a 69 - matched by Clarke - in yesterday's pro-am.

Jimmy Heggarty, though, trumped them all in that particular joust when including a hole-in-one at the ninth, his third of the season, on his way to a 68. "I wouldn't mind a bit if the wind blew a bit harder over the next few days," admitted Heggarty.

One assumes Walton, among others, wouldn't mind either if the wind added further bite to a course in extremely good condition.