Colin Montgomerie, the European number one for the past six years, has confirmed he will compete in the Murphy's Irish Open at Druids Glen on July 1st-4th.
A two-time winner at the venue, Montgomerie's return was always anticipated. However, no entries have yet been received from his Ryder Cup team-mates Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood, nor from US Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal.
The Spaniard, though, is expected to confirm his participation shortly. Indeed, his manager Sergio Gomez said recently that Olazabal would be present at Druids Glen but was unlikely to play in the Smurfit European Open at The K Club later in July because of a commitment to play in America. Yesterday, Padraic Liston, the managing director of sponsors Murphy Brewery Ireland, announced that Montgomerie, Sergio Garcia, Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros and Ian Woosnam had entered for a championship which this year carries a prize fund of £1.2 million.
David Carter, who beat Montgomerie in a play-off for the title last year, is also a confirmed starter, as are a further seven European Tour winners this season - Jarrod Moseley (Heineken Classic), Paul Lawrie (Qatar Masters), Van Phillips (Portuguese Open), Pedro Linhart (Madeira Island Open), Jarmo Sandelin (Spanish Open), David Howell (Dubai Desert Classic) and Dean Robertson (Italian Open).
John Daly, the so-called Wild Thing, was confirmed as a competitor as long ago as last Christmas - although more recent soundings are that his presence is due to a marketing deal between the player and the host club to promote Druids Glen on the American market and has nothing to do with appearance fees. Indeed, Liston insists that the sponsors will not pay money to players simply for turning up. And that insistence appears extremely genuine.
All of which still leaves the position concerning Clarke and Westwood unclear. Although they have until June 13th to enter the tournament - Clarke insists he hasn't mapped out his schedule beyond next month's US Open - the lateness of entering (or not) is a worrying one. "We'd still like to think Darren will be there . . . it would be a shame if he wasn't," said the tournament's senior consultant Paddy Rossi.
Meanwhile, Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley and Philip Walton have entered. Yesterday, Walton signed a two-year equipment deal with Japanese manufacturers Yonex to play their clubs on the tour. "This is a significant boost for me," admitted Walton. "I haven't had a good start to the season, but I am working harder than I have ever done and firmly believe that all I need is to put a couple of good rounds together to get my confidence back."
His new clubs - the Yonex titanium driver and the Super ADX forged irons - are actually a righthanded version made to the specifications of US Tour player Phil Mickelson, a fact acknowledged on the shafts of the clubs. Mickelson first played the clubs at the US Open in 1992, shortly after turning professional, and Walton, who had been without a club contract so far this season, is anticipating a change in fortune.
Walton, who withdrew from last weekend's TPC of Europe in Heidelberg because of a back strain, visited his chiropractor on Monday and expects to be back to fitness for the Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth, which starts on Friday.
