Officials face new set of headaches

Irish golf supporters who had purchased tickets for the Ryder Cup at the Belfry will find out within the next week whether they will be reimbursed, or if they will have to wait for tickets to be reissued for the event which has been rescheduled for September 2002.

The postponement of the match between Europe and the United States, originally scheduled for next week, has caused considerable complications for the Ryder Cup organisers, with issues of insurance, hotels, ticketing and compensation all to be dealt with.

The decision to postpone the event for 12 months, rather than cancel it, has been met with universal approval from players and officials alike. Colin Montgomerie, who topped the European Order of Merit for seven successive seasons until toppled by Lee Westwood last year, remarked: "I think this is a satisfactory outcome to what was a very difficult situation. All credit to those involved for acting decisively at short notice, and reaching a decision which finds a way to play the match at a future date.

"My own personal feeling was that it would have been hard to find the stomach to beat the Americans in these awful circumstances. So it was the right move to put the match off and also the right thing to reschedule it with the same people involved next year."

The decision to reschedule the Ryder Cup for September next has also put a question mark over the President's Cup, in which the US plays the rest of the world, which was due to take place in South Africa in November 2002.

The US Tour said that discussions were being held on whether to proceed with it on that date or put it back to 2003. However, the 35th Ryder Cup match is scheduled for Oakland Hills in Detroit in September 2003.

Padraig Harrington, meanwhile, has decided not to take up the offer from the Lancome Trophy organisers for any Ryder Cup players who had not intended to play in this week's tournament in Paris to make a late entry. Instead, he has decided to take the next two weeks off, while Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley have also decided not to enter.

Des Smyth, David Higgins, Eamonn Darcy and Gary Murphy are the only Irish players competing in a field which is also bereft of its hitherto main attraction, Tiger Woods, who withdrew over the weekend.

A number of US Ryder Cup players will, however, compete in this week's Pennsylvania Classic which sees the restart of the US Tour, after last week's AmEx world strokeplay championship was cancelled as a mark of respect to those killed and injured in the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Paul Azinger, Mark Calcavecchia, Jim Furyk, Scott Verplank, Stewart Cink and Scott Hoch are all playing, as is US Ryder Cup captain Curtis Strange.

Meanwhile, 19 Irish players - a number of whom have previously experienced life on tour - will take the first step towards securing European Tour cards for 2002 when they compete in Stage One of the pre-qualifying at four venues in England, starting today.

It's the first step towards a place in the Qualifying School, which takes place at San Roque in November.

The biggest Irish contingent is competing at Carden Park, where Raymond Burns, who topped the Challenge Tour Order of Merit in 1994, is one of nine Irishmen competing. Also playing at that course are former Irish amateur champion Ciarβn McMonagle, Padraig Dooley, Finian Dwyer, Ted Higgins, former tour player Francis Howley, John Kelly, John Langan and Leslie Walker.

Stephen Browne, recent winner of the European amateur strokeplay, is competing at Wynyard, where Conor Mallon, Robin Symes and Noel Fox are also entered, while Eamonn Brady, a winner on the Canadian Tour this season, is joined by Gary Cullen, Eoin Feely, Tim Rice and Peter Walsh at Chart Hills.

Graham Spring is the only Irish player competing at Five Lakes.