WHEN Philip Walton shot a final round of 65 at Wentworth in 1986, it had the dramatic effect of lifting him from 54th to fourth place in the finishing order, for earnings of £10,500. But with record prize money, the same placing in the £1.1 million Volvo PGA Championship, which starts on the West Course this morning, would be worth £55,000.

That is a measure of the significant growth in one of the prime tournaments of the European season. Things may not be quite as healthy as on the Tiger Woods- inspired American tour, but for the 12 Irish challengers this week-end, the potential rewards are formidable.

The 12 are: Darren Clarke Padraig Harrington, Philip Walton, Paul McGinley, Eamonn Darcy, Des Smyth, Christy O'Connor Jnr, Ronan Rafferty Raymond Burns, David Higgins and club professionals Brendan McGovern, of Headfort, and Damien McGrane, who took up an appointment at Wexford GC on March 1st.

All were happy to talk about the challenge of Wentworth. As McGovern, who has yet to make the cut here, put it: "I feel I can handle most aspects of the course except the greens, which are unbelievably quick compared with what I'm used to back home."

Seve Ballesteros, on the other hand, seemed happier to talk about the Ryder Cup.

With a top prize of £183,340, the weekend's activities could have a profound effect on the points standings in which Darren Clarke is eighth. He is one of four uncapped players in the top-10, so it was fascinating to hear skipper BaIlesteros suggest yesterday that he expects to have as many as five newcomers in his team.

"My biggest problem will be to give these players confidence," he said. I suggested that he might consider his approach of 1989 at The Belfry where, prior to the start of Sunday's singles, he looked at Christy O'Connor Jnr, eyeball to eyeball, and told him earnestly: "You are the best player in the world - you will win." Then he asked: "Who are you playing?"

His response yesterday became somewhat confused when it was suggested that by the time Valderrama comes around, he could be playing in the team himself. Ever resourceful, the Spaniard had a brainwave. "I could make a tape-recording of that and have it played to each player as they go to the first tee," he said with a grin.

More seriously, he welcomed Nick Faldo's decision to change his schedule and play this weekend. "It's nice to see Nick make the effort," said the skipper. He was then asked whether, depending on the circumstances, he felt strong enough to omit Faldo from his line-up as a wild-card choice?

Now the smile had completely disappeared. "Of course I'm strong enough to leave him out," he said. "It is too early to make decisions, but I have made it very clear I will pick the players who I think are best for the team. For me, there are no friends."

A noticeable improvement in the Ballesteros mood, compared with earlier this season, was explained by Jose-Maria Olazabal. "With us professionals, most of how we feel is related to how we are striking the ball," he said.

Then, by way of illustrating his own, remarkable well-being, the 1994 Volvo PGA champion added: "If anything goes wrong on the golf course, I can no longer blame my feet. In fact I'm more concerned right now about my scores than about my health. I suppose you could say it was a miracle - if you believe in miracles."

Of the Irish challengers, O'Connor Jnr is maintaining a fine family tradition by competing in the tournament for a 28th time. On this occasion, the 48-year-old is here on a sponsor's invitation. And by way of acknowledging the passing years, he said wistfully: "I'm going to miss Wentworth, which must rank as one of the all-time classic parkland courses."

Clarke is a long way from such thoughts. The Ulsterman took a total break on Wednesday, on his manager's instructions, after the pain of losing to Costantino Rocca in the semi-finals of the Andersen Consulting World Championship at Buckinghamshire GC.

A six-under-par 66 in yesterday's pro-am suggested he had fully recovered from the ordeal. "My record here isn't great, but I hit a lot of greens today," he said. "My game's in good shape and I'm not dwelling on the Ryder Cup situation. My only thoughts are on a good tournament performance."

While Clarke was on the course, Harrington was on the practice ground, working with his coach, Howard Bennett. "This is a really big event which gets the adrenalin flowing," said the Stackstown player, who shot a closing 68 to claim a share of 13th place on his debut 12 months ago.

Its importance can be gauged from the presence of such as Ernie Els, who has won the last three World Matchplay titles here. Vijay Singh, Frank Nobilo and Jesper Parnevik, quite apart from the holder, Rocca, and former PGA champions Faldo.

Ballesteros, Olazabal, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam and Tony Jacklin.

As Faldo put it: "This is a very competitive event on a challenging course. A real test, that's why I enjoy playing here."