As appetisers go, this is a tasty wee morsel. To be sure, the Ryder Cup - albeit all of 15 months away, but counting down - hangs like a multi-coloured rainbow over all that The K Club stands for, with the biennial contest as the crock of gold at its end.

Yet, in its own right, the Smurfit European Open, once a tournament dying on its feet, has evolved into one of the PGA European Tour's flagship events ever since it was transported to this piece of property in Co Kildare.

On this occasion, the facts and figures don't lie. For this latest instalment of a vibrant tournament which now features a purse of €3.4 million, the past two US Open champions - Michael Campbell and Retief Goosen - are in a field that includes 12 of the world's top-50 ranked players and seven of the current top 10 on the European Tour's order of merit. Who could ask for much more?

Well, actually, as far as the home crowd are concerned, an Irish winner (and there are 13 home players competing) would do the job nicely. Darren Clarke did manage to win this particular tournament in 2001 and the previous year shot an extraordinary round of 60. But much has changed to the course, with nip-'n'-tuck surgery and tweaking since then.

Yesterday he was asked how many strokes tougher it is now compared to when he performed that feat. "Probably 12," he replied, "it's going to be very, very tough this week."

Clarke is a welcome addition indeed to the field, returning to tournament play for the first time in a month since he withdrew midway through the BMW Championship at Wentworth to be with his wife, Heather, in her on-going fight with cancer. "I don't have any expectations this week. Expectations on the golf course are not overly important to me right now . . . I'll just go out and play and see how I get on, good or bad or whatever," he said.

If Clarke is entitled to have lower self-expectations than would normally be the case, Padraig Harrington's win in the Barclays Classic on the US Tour last weekend means the Dubliner - also dealing with an illness in the family - at least brings some confidence into the tournament.

"I'm coming here and trying to win, it'd be great to make it a special week," said Harrington, who was second on two of the last three occasions that the tournament was played on what is now known as the Palmer Course, formerly the North Course.

As if to underline the current strength of Irish golf, four of them - Harrington (8th), Clarke (17th), Graeme McDowell (44th) and Paul McGinley (45th) - are in the world's top 50.

"The key here is that you are not presented with a great deal of chances on the par fours so you have to play the par fives well. Distance off the tee obviously helps, but they've got the rough thick enough where it is going to be a key to hit it in the fairway as well," said McDowell.

After being played on the Smurfit Course across the river Liffey a year ago to facilitate some remodelling to the Palmer Course, the tournament returns to its traditional home for what is effectively a dress-rehearsal for the Ryder Cup. All the tweaking and fine-tuning completed, this is pretty much how Ian Woosnam would like the course to be set-up for the actual match. "I think this course was built to play this way, with run-offs surrounding the greens. If you hit a bad shot or get on the wrong side, you're going in the water or going to run off the green," said Woosie.

Goosen, who is defending the title, doesn't expect to have anything easy. Among the changes to the course is a reconstructed 12th green (as the tournament is played) that eats into the pond and a new tee on the seventh. "It's a very good tee, facing right into the water so it's a difficult tee shot. In the past, it was a three-wood and wedge but now it can play anything up to a driver and six-iron," said the South African of the seventh.

Yet, the difficulty is everywhere. The width of the fairways at the landing areas ranges from 28 to 32 yards - which is fair for those who drive well - but the penalty for missing the fairways is extreme with the primary cut of rough up to three inches.

"Driving has become very important around this course," added Goosen. "There are so many new trees that every time you hit it in the rough, thick rough, you've also got the trees to contend with. There's no doubt the course has been toughened up."

Twelve months ago, Goosen came to Straffan a fortnight after winning the US Open and carried that momentum with him despite, as he put it, playing on "auto pilot" for the first two rounds. This time, he comes on the back of a final round fallout at Pinehurst two weeks ago. "It was unfortunate, a bad round. I was just really trying to get the ambulance back to the clubhouse. But I'm fine about it, it's one of those things that happens to a lot of players."

So, don't expect any further fall-out from the Goose, who - as world number five - is the top-ranked player in the field. He should be considered the favourite but, just as Goosen did a year ago, could it be Campbell or Harrington who carry on the momentum of their respective wins into this week?

"I think Michael will be the man to beat. When he gets in form, he tends to play well for three or six months at a time," said Harrington.

The Palmer Course will ask the questions. It's up to the players to provide the answers.