RYDER CUP: It is the final week of the Ryder Cup race and the European captain, Bernhard Langer, has no doubt he is in the right place: with his family until the weekend.
When the last qualifying tournament starts in Munich tomorrow and the mad scramble for the remaining places resumes, Langer will be in America, preparing to take his 18-year-old daughter, Jackie, to college.
He has received some criticism in the media for that, just as he did for not being at the British Open when the US captain, Hal Sutton, was. But the double Masters champion is furious with the suggestion his devotion to the captaincy is not all it should be.
"The Ryder Cup is very important to me, but I know I am doing the right thing," he said. "There are certain things you have to be as a father and a husband and supporting my daughter and my wife this week is one of them.
"I will be in Germany at the weekend and that is when it matters that I am there. Nothing is going to be decided on Thursday and Friday.
"People don't know how badly I wanted to play this week. Real bad - it is my home event."
Langer has long been the BMW International Open's biggest crowd-puller and would have been again this week even with the return of John Daly, winner three years ago, and all the leading contenders in the Ryder Cup standings.
That said, there is a doubt about the defending champion, Lee Westwood, whose wife, Laurae, is expecting their second child at any time.
While becoming a father again could stop Westwood trying to repeat the win that reignited his career last August, being a father is Langer's priority the next few days. And he cannot understand people who think that is a crime.
SCRATCH CUP: Brian McElhinney, the Irish Close champion and Walker Cup team contender from North West, heads an all-star cast in Sunday's Bank of Ireland Warrenpoint 36 holes Scratch Cup.
The six-footer from Lisfannon is one of a number of Irish internationals in the field. He joins club colleague Michael McGeady, Mark O'Sullivan of Galway, and Stackstown's Mark Campbell.
PRO-AM: Donegal man Seamus Clinton shot to the top of the leaderboard at Rossmore yesterday for his first win on the PGA Irish Tour.
In the Four Seasons Golf and Country Club-backed pro-am tournament, Clinton carded a four-under-par 66 to take the winner's cheque.
The Loughside Driving Range pro opened with a birdie four but lost the advantage when he missed par at the short second hole. That, however, was his only mistake of the day as he covered the remaining holes with four birdies and 12 pars.
He pencilled in a birdie three at the fourth and reduced the long ninth to four blows to be out in two-under-par 34. He then completed a hat-trick of birdies with threes at the 10th and 11th holes before matching regulation at the finishing seven holes for a home run of 32.
Dundalk assistant Brian Kerley and Royal Dublin's Neil Manchip shared 67 with Damina Mooney and Brendan McGovern on 68. Peter O'Hagan, piloting a team representing Canada Life, won the team prize on 95 points.
SCHOOLS' FINAL: Barry Collins was the toast of his student pals at Warrenpoiont last night as he clinched victory for Douglas Community School in the final of the Irish Schools' Matchplay Championship. With Douglas and Coleraine tied, Collins produced a grandstand finish to beat Rory Fleming by one hole and take the honours to Cork. In the semi-finals Collins snatched a half as Douglas beat Patrician Secondary School by 3½-1½ while Coleraine had an easy 4-1 win over St Gerald's, Castlebar.
