NINE years ago, it became the talk of golfing circles in North Dublin - and other places besides. How a little slip of a girl and her uncle had combined to beat all-comers in Clontarf's annual Open Mixed Foursomes Tournament.

Aideen Rogers was then aged 14 and playing off 22, her first handicap. She was to have partnered her father, Kevin, but he was forced to go to Libya on business. But there has never been a shortage of able golfers in the Rogers family and Kevin's brother Seamus stepped into the breach.

Clearly enjoying the memory of those heady days in 1987, Aideen recalls: "I was 14 at the time and terribly raw at the game. Seamus was playing off three. I just did as I was told - `hit that putt two inches to the right of the hole'; `try and hit it down the left side here'; `don't be afraid to make a full swing'."

The little girl has matured into the country's leading challenger on the European Tour. Her current struggle contrasts sharply, however, with those carefree days of golfing innocence back in 1987.

Alter finishing runner-up in the Irish strokeplay and matchplay championships in 1993, Rogers joined the tour the following year when she amassed the decidedly modest earnings of £470. But a natural aptitude, allied to a grim determination, saw her progress to 52nd in the final Order of Merit last year with earnings of £10,658. It was by no means a kings ransom, but she was on her way.

Her optimism seemed entirely justified when a fine performance on the tree-lined Aroeira course outside Lisbon gained her a share of second place (with Marie Laure de Lorenzi and two others) behind Shani Waugh in the £60,000 Costa Azul Ladies' Open. It brought her a cheque for £4,018 the biggest of her professional career so far. "After that event, I was seventh in the Order of Merit and set up for the rest of the season," she says.

Then things started to go wrong. It seemed bitterly ironic that she should run into difficulties with her sponsor, which happened to be none other than Costa Azul (Golf Portugal). "Quite frankly I don't know where I stand at the moment whether they intend to continue with the arrangement or not," she says.

The upshot has been a serious shortage of cash to allow her compete to the best of her ability. Instead of flying to tournaments. she has faced the prospect of 12-hour car drives along with her boyfriend, Paul, and his brother, Robert. Both of them are caddies on the tour and Robert has been working with Rogers recently.

"From being completely relaxed and in. control of my game, I began to get all tensed up because of the money worries," she says. "Over the last five weeks on tour, it was a terrible struggle to pay my caddie. I realise I'm not the first to go through these problems but that doesn't make it any easier. It's very difficult to do yourself justice when you've got financial problems.

From a second-place finish in Portugal, she slumped to 61st in the Danish Open; 52nd in the Swiss Open; 42nd in the Evian Masters; 53rd in the Austrian Open and 41st in the Hennessy Cup. The good news was that she was consistently making cuts; the bad news that low finishes reduced her earnings significantly, to the point where she has had to settle for a total of £8,743 so far this season.

At home with her father, however, things have begun to look very much better. Kevin, a one-handicapper at one stage and a member of The Island team which captured the All-Ireland Senior Cup at Royal Co Down in 1983, is her coach. "We have a great relationship and my only regret is that I don't have the money to take him out on tour now and again," she says.

"I feel so envious when I look at the Swedish players and the way their coaches travel with them everywhere. In fact, they also have their own psychologists. When things go wrong with your game it's a tremendous help to have your coach on hand to sort things out."

The point was emphasised for her as recently as a few weeks ago. She had returned home from the Hennessy Cup complaining of problems with her pitching. "In one session, my dad sorted things out," she says.

Meanwhile, she has decided to make the best of her "home" advantage in the Irish Open. She played Citywest for the first time last month and returned there last week for two further rounds. She likes the course and has been particularly impressed with the overall facilities.

Still, she has one major regret. "I think it's an awful shame we don't play this tournament on a links course," she says. "Apart from the fact that I learned my golf at The Island, I think overseas players tend to associate Irish golf with links conditions."

Unlike her male counterparts at Druids Glen recently, she doesn't anticipate any additional pressure from playing in front of home supporters. "That won't bother me at all," she insists. "My aim is to try and win every tournament I enter and that includes the Guardian Irish Open. But my primary concern is to try and get back to where I was after my second-place finish in Portugal.

"I know I can make a go of it if money matters are sorted out. A healthy slice of the prize fund at Citywest would certainly be a great help in that regard."

Aideen Rogers is made of the right stuff. Having already made something of a breakthrough by joining the professional staff at Portmarnock, she is set to move on to more tangible achievements. This week could provide a very nice start.