Flattered but not deceived by selection

Harsh lessons experienced first hand serve to remove most preconceptions. Garth McGimpsey would never presume anything in the context of the Walker Cup, so he greeted his selection for the panel from which the majority of the 1999 team will be selected, with nothing more than mild surprise.

Wrongly ignored, despite a litany of domestic successes, his last appearance among Britain and Ireland's elite golfers was in 1994, 12 months before a famous victory over a Tiger Woods inspired USA team at Royal Porthcawl. That experience alone tempers any euphoria in returning to the fold.

"I played really well that year and was dropped from the panel, so there is no way I will be taking anything for granted. I am delighted to have received a call-up this time and I'm looking forward to when the panel gets together for trials the week after next.

"Given the quality of players that will be present, I am sure it will be very competitive. There won't be too much pressure attached, given that nothing will be decided there and then. It's more of an orientation exercise. I haven't been involved for a while so it will be interesting to note the format."

McGimpsey is one of five Irish players - Noel Fox (Portmarnock), Eamonn Brady (Royal Dublin), Paddy Gribben (Warrenpoint) and Michael Hoey (Shandon Park) are the others - included in the preliminary 22man panel for the Walker Cup match against the USA at Nairn on September 11th and 12th of next year.

The Bangor golfer, who claimed his 13th championship triumph, the East of Ireland championship at Baltray, earlier this year is brutually honest about his prospects of making a fourth Walker Cup appearance (he played in 1985, 1989, 1991). "This is definitely my last chance. I have to be realistic about that.

"Making the team would be a great way to finish but there is plenty of talent around. This boost though will keep me going, in an international context for another year."

A serious shoulder injury prevented McGimpsey from practising last winter, something he intends to redress over the coming months. "I will be keeping fit during the winter, doing strengthening exercises, sit-ups and pressups, as well as going for a jog.

"The injury was a big setback last year and I am hoping that this time I will be ready when the season begins in earnest next year." His capacity to remain at the highest level, reflected in championship victories and lofty finishes, precludes any suggestion that his international longevity may soon be an issue. McGimpsey paints a less romantic scenario, though. "I am aware that in an international context, I am reaching the end of my career. I don't want to get to the stage where I am included on the strength of what I have achieved in my career rather than current ability. If my golf is good enough then fine, otherwise, I should not be there."

When he does become expendable, it will not signal the end of domestic commitments to the sport. "If and when I retire from international golf I will go on playing in the East, West, South and the other top amateur tournaments. I enjoy competing and as long as that continues to be the case, then I will still play."

His remarkable success in a career that spans more than two decades at the pinnacle of amateur golf looks like continuing unabated, if the form of recent seasons is any criterion.

The Ulsterman contends though that standards are getting higher. "They are definitely going up. There are more players now capable of winning tournaments. Even with the high yearly turnover of amateurs turning to the professional ranks, there are others there to replace the departees.

"The players are coming through at a younger age and are better." One senses though that McGimpsey is not quite ready to doff his cap at the new kids, that the same competitive instinct that permeated his successes down the years burns as keenly as ever.

When the Walker Cup squad convenes on October 14th, McGimpsey will finally have an opportunity to prove what many outside of the selectors have clamoured for years - that he remains among the best there is.

Padraig Harrington will travel to Elm Green Golf Centre next Monday to promote the new Wilson fat shaft driver. The Irish touring professional will be on hand to offer a demonstration from 7.0-8.0pm on the range and will answer questions afterward.