Barry makes the right choice

That's the problem with this Golf Masters business - you fiddle with your line-up until it's finely tuned and raring to go, you have a near-perfect weekend of tournaments, win yourself a fourball and, voila, you think you have it cracked. Just like Finbar Lyons last week, when his Meteor 114 team sent him to the top of the weekly and overall leaderboards.

Week three? Four of his players didn't turn up for duty and of the three who did only Mark Calcavecchia brought home a cheque that featured five figures (£11,500 to be exact). So, Finbar's men finished joint 15,957th on the weekly leaderboard and have meteorically slumped to 72nd overall.

It was a much better week, though, for "Roger" who, we told you last Thursday, was struggling a bit back in 18,872th (and last) position. Compassionate souls that we are, we promised not to fully identify him lest people would point at him in his local supermarket and laugh.

Lo and behold, who should ring our helpline last week but the very same "Roger" who vowed, defiantly, to rise, like a phoenix from the ashy cinders and make us eat our mocking words. Well, hats off to "Roger" - his `Eagles' are probably suffering from nosebleeds now because they've soared to 18,232nd in week three.

Neither Tiger Woods nor the mighty Des Smyth feature in Dun Laoghaire resident Roger Walsh's line-up (oops) - as if it needed to be said - but unfortunately for the manager who rang us yesterday assuming he'd won a fourball (when, in fact, he hadn't even made it in to the top 500) his team is just one of 505 that include both the weekend winners.

Five-hundred-and-four of them are entitled to believe the gods are against them, the 505th can start preparing for his trip from Monaleen, Limerick to Powerscourt, Wicklow - take a bow, Billy Barry. (We're tempted to ask if he'll bring the kids, but Billy's heard it all before).

If the all-singing, all-dancing Billy had shown more patience with Billy Bunter's starting line-up, as entered at registration time, he'd have won £22,000 in week three and would have tied for 13,973th on the weekly leaderboard. But, on this occasion, impatience was a virtue - he transferred out his original seven and brought in Des Smyth (Madeira Island Open winner), Tiger Woods (Bay Hill Invitational winner), John Bickerton and Niclas Fasth (runner-up and joint third, respectively, in Madeira), David Frost and Mark Davis (£2,000 between them in Florida). Sum total? A grand £340,750. Congratulations Billy.

So to week four's tournaments, the Sao Paulo Brazilian Open and the Players' Championship. For those managers who have a sizeable representation in the Players' field we have good news - it is a bonus tournament (i.e. it offers one and a half times the regular Golf Masters prize money), just as it has been for the past six years, even though we neglected to mention the fact a couple of weeks ago. Best of luck to all, especially "Roger".