Woosnam set to resume duel for Vardon honours

GIVEN his continuing battle with a back injury, it wasn't surprising that one of the first inquiries Ian Woosnam made on arrival at the K Club yesterday was whether the European Tour's physiotherapy unit - a mobile caravan conveniently stationed next to the practice range - had opened its doors for business.

It hadn't. Still, Woosnam was in reasonably upbeat mood as he contemplated a resumption of his duel with Colin Montgomerie to top the European money list. Intriguingly, the Welshman declared that the Straffan course, which hosts the £750,000 Smurfit European Open, starting tomorrow, was a more than suitable arena for the next stage of their virtual head-to-head.

As things stand, Woosnam - who claimed the Harry Vardon Trophy for topping the Order of Merit in 1987 and 1990 - trails Montgomerie, who is seeking to be European number one for a fourth successive year, by £141,548. "Colin is just up there every week," said Woosnam. "And Robert Allenby is also still in the picture, so it tends to keep you on your toes." Allenby is £78,645 behind Woosnam.

"My back has been at me again in recent weeks, but it is something I have had to live with, on and off, for years. My real problem is that I am not consistent enough at the moment. I'm playing well for the first two rounds, and then a bad one is slipping in. Hopefully, I can put four good rounds together here over a course I rate very highly," said Woosnam, already a four-time winner on the circuit this season.

Last year, the greens at the K Club came in for some harsh criticism from the players. Woosnam, however, had a sneak preview of the remedial work carried out in the meantime when he returned earlier this summer for the Chris de Burgh Pro-Am, and was impressed by the progress made.

"They were young and had diseased a bit last year," he commented. "But they have fetched them on a lot since then and in fact, I don't think you will get a much better venue on the Tour.

"When you have a venue like Loch Lomond last week and then, the K Club this week I believe the Tour is going in the right direction. It is what we need," he said.

Certainly, there is no fear of a repeat of the sort of greens which players endured in the British Masters at Collingtree Park last month. And, if there was a tendency for some spiking to occur here, the general consensus yesterday was that there was still "a true roll".

All of which would appear to set the scene nicely for another intriguing tournament. All of the so-called "big-guns" arrived yesterday, with Woosnam joined by Montgomerie, Allenby and defending champion Bernhard Langer. The longest journey of all, however, was by British Open champion Tom Lehman, who made the trip in two parts: firstly, from his home in Phoenix, Arizona, to Atlanta, where he joined his brother and manager, Jim, and then on to Dublin.

Lehman, indeed, didn't have much opportunity to recover from his flight exertions as he fulfilled an obligation to take part - at least for nine holes - in a charity outing over the course. His trip to Ireland is the start of a global campaign over the coming weeks, as he is also scheduled to play in Germany next week, then home to the US for the tour's finale, followed by the world matchplay in England and, finally, twice in South Africa.

The 37-year-old American's win at the British Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes has put him in big demand. "The day after the win, I had something like 150 phone calls from media, friends and family, and people inquiring about the prospect of Tom endorsing their products," said Jim.

So, all of the principals sampled the course - to some extent or other - yesterday, and the arrival of rain and wind gave them a foretaste of what is forecast up until Saturday at least.

As ever, a stroll around the practice range confirmed the amount of commitment given to their profession by golfers who, for hours on end, can be seen hitting balls over a variety of distances, some with their coaches (and the all-seeing video cam) in tow.

The real work, however, takes place on the golf course itself, with the first three-balls due to hit off at 7.40 am, using the first and 10th tees simultaneously.

And the draw has been favourable to the home players, with Philip Walton in a three-ball with Lehman and Scotland's Andrew Coltart, while Raymond Burns, seeking a good payday in his battle to make the elite 50 who will comprise the end-of-season showcase at the Volvo Masters, has been partnered with Montgomerie and Paul, Broadhurst.

Darren Clarke has also received a favourable draw: the Ulsterman will tee-off in the company of Woosnam and his Chubby Chandler stablemate Lee Westwood. Padraig Harrington - seeking to become the first Irish winner of the "rookie of the year award - plays alongside Miguel Angel Jimenez and David Gilford. Harrington, incidentally, sought out veteran professional Wattie Sullivan yesterday for some fine-tuning in his efforts to overtake Raymond Russell in that battle for rookie honours.

Paul McGinley has also been handed high profile company for the opening two rounds. The Austrian Open champion will have reigning champion Langer and Costantino Rocca as his playing colleagues, all of which shows the current high standing of the Irish players on the Tour.