Coughlan and Nolan bid for US Tour cards

Tour news: For Richie Coughlan and Keith Nolan, who chose to pursue their golfing destinies in the United States rather than in Europe once turning professional, the opportunity to emerge from the wilderness arrives this week when the two Irishmen chase a precious - and potentially lucrative - card at the US Tour's final qualifying school at La Quinta in California.

The pair have been operating in golf's backwaters for much of this year yet have shown considerable fortitude to negotiate two stages of tour school qualifying to make it to La Quinta, where other European players in the field include former Ryder Cup men Phillip Price and Per-Ulrik Johansson and Englishmen Brian Davis and David Carter.

Coughlan has spent much of this season on the Nationwide Tour, the US Tour's secondary circuit, where his best finish was tied-third in the BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs. His only other top-10 finish came in the Virginia Beach Open. In 26 outings, Coughlan made 15 cuts and finished up with $76,030 in prize money which left him 74th in the money list.

The season was even tougher for Nolan, who didn't have a full Nationwide Tour card and relied mainly on sponsors' exemptions. The Bray native played in nine tournaments where he won $19,793 to finish 152nd in the money list. So, given such a lack of competitive golf, it was a notable achievement for Nolan to make it through the school qualifying stages.

Coughlan and Nolan were two of 19 players to make it through from PQ-II at St Augustine in Florida where, after poor starts, they showed great resolve. Coughlan opened with a 75 that was followed by 65-65-68 for 15-under 273, while Nolan's opening 73 was followed by 65-70-70 for 278. Coughlan finished in fifth place, Nolan in 14th.

Of course, neither player is a stranger to the demands of the final qualifying. Coughlan won his US Tour card in 1998 and 2001, only to fail to retain it on both occasions, while Nolan also won his card for the 1998 season, but failed to keep it. The pair face six rounds at La Quinta: the first four rounds alternate between the PGA West Course and the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course, with those who survive the cut going on to play a further two rounds at PGA West. The gruelling schedule gets under way tomorrow.

As Coughlan once observed of the demands of qualifying school, "I felt sick in my stomach". More pressure-laden days lie ahead for Coughlan and Nolan if they are to earn their precious tickets on to the most lucrative circuit in the world.

As things stand, two Irish players - Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke - have full cards on the US Tour next season. However, for Harrington, his 2005 season starts this week when he defends the Omega Hong Kong Open, a title he edged from Hennie Otto a year ago when he birdied the last two holes. The event - which carries a top prize of 100,338 - is co-sanctioned with the European Tour and the Asian Tour.

For the past two seasons Harrington won the season-opening tournaments on the European Tour - he also won the 2003 BMW Asian Open - but he passed up the opportunity to try to make that three-in-a-row when he opted to play in the Korea Championship last week rather than the Chinese Open, which was won by Welshman Stephen Dodd.

Harrington, who remains at world number six, is again the top-ranked player in the field in Hong Kong where he will be joined by fellow Ryder Cup players Ian Poulter, Miguel Angel Jimenez and David Howell. Jose Maria Olazabal is also playing, while Peter Lawrie and Philip Walton are also entered to play.

This is the penultimate week of Harrington's season before he takes a nine-week winter break. The Dubliner finishes his season's travels by playing in next week's Target World Challenge in California, an event confined to just 16 players and which offers $1 million in prize money.

While Harrington remains the top-ranked European player in the world, Clarke stays at 12th, with Graeme McDowell in 55th. Paul McGinley, who underwent surgery on his knee last week that will leave him inactive for up to two months, has moved up one place to 66th.