Clarke talk of the town

Woe betide anyone with a wayward swing this week. The rough, although nothing like Carnoustie, will be an integral part of Ballybunion's defence mechanism for the Murphy's Irish Open starting on Thursday and, indeed, David Probyn, the European Tour's assistant director of operations, who has been responsible for setting up the old course, reckons it will provide a test that some players "may not face again in their careers".

Yesterday, the course looked resplendent. Bright sunshine bathed the north Kerry links and a gentle breeze gave the few early-arrivals a hint of what to expect. "It's magnificent," said Probyn. "The conditioning is beyond our original expectations but we have yet to see how tough it will be playing. With wind, it will be a severe test and I'm certainly looking forward to the comments of the players."

Many of the top attractions, however, aren't due to touch down in these parts until today: Darren Clarke is due this afternoon, as is defending champion Sergio Garcia. Jose Maria Olazabal arrived last evening but didn't play and won't acquaint himself with the course until today. While Padraig Harrington, who, rather surprisingly, never played the course as an amateur, will also get his first look some time today.

Kerry being Kerry, in fact, most of the talk around the town centred on a rumour that Clarke had withdrawn from the tournament - but both European Tour and tournament officials played down the wild talk and denied that the leader of the Order of Merit had defected from the event which carries a prize fund of £1 million sterling. Which is just as well, given last week's defection of Colin Montgomerie and the absence of Lee Westwood. Those who are playing, though, can expect something special.

Indeed, a walk on the course yesterday confirmed Probyn's assessment that it is in magnificent condition and, although the greens were described as only "medium paced" by Irish international Eamonn Brady, it is expected that they will speed up as the week progresses.

Although there are a number of "no-go" areas for the spectators - for environmental purposes - it is a spectacular viewing course and the organisers have assisted nature with the erection of some standing-only platforms, most notably on the area overlooking the ninth, 10th and 11th holes.

For the purpose of this tournament, the old course reverts back to its old lay-out (which was changed in 1971 when the clubhouse was repositioned to what is normally the 18th fairway) with the normal sixth hole acting as the first for the championship and what is normally the long par-five fifth as the finishing hole.

It means back-to-back par fives to finish and also means there is the unusual situation of having back-to-back par threes midway through the round, at what will be the ninth and the 10th holes.

It all adds up to what Probyn anticipates will be a searching examination. However, he does anticipate some delays when the championship gets under way due to what he describes as the

"unique features of Ballybunion" which involve hitting over greens off a number of tee-boxes and also players waiting on greens to clear.

"This is not a commercially designed course, but it is very special. There will be delays but we still expect to get players around in an acceptable time," he added.

As to the logistical problems - the first tee is a mile from the clubhouse and the practice ground - Probyn felt they were "not a major headache. People will always jump on the negatives, but that's the price you pay for playing a very special course. Given reasonable weather, I expect this to be a very flavoursome week."

As far as the Irish quest for a victory is concerned, the cause was assisted yesterday by the addition of Gary Murphy to the field. The Kilkenny rookie didn't require a sponsor's invite, getting into the tournament on his own strength via his tour school card.

This meant that the two remaining invitations were issued to Australian Adam Scott, coached by Butch Harmon and who is likened to Tiger Woods for his prodigious length off the tee, and former Ryder Cup player Joachim Haeggman, who is fighting to regain the tour card he lost last season.

Murphy's addition to the field means there will be 24 Irishmen in the field, including three amateurs. The Irish contingent comprises: Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley, Ronan Rafferty, Philip Walton, Eamonn Darcy, Des Smyth, Gary Murphy, Graham Spring, Richard Coughlan, Peter Lawrie, Sean Quinlivan, David Higgins, Paddy Gribben, Martin Sludds, Damian McGrane, Stephen Hamill, David Walker, Brendan McGovern, John Dwyer, John Kelly, Eamon Brady, Ciaran McMonagle and Mark Murphy.