Dapper Stewart full of passion

The lines around his eyes betrayed someone who could be accused of chasing air miles. Payne Stewart's arrival at The K Club had come via Seattle, San Francisco and Paris but, crow's feet apart, the recuperative powers of staying at the on-site five-star hotel had obviously proven beneficial and, at 41, the American claimed to have finally worked out the formula to beat jet lag.

On his last competitive appearance in Ireland, back in 1991, when Stewart - who had won the US Open a couple of days previously at Hazeltine - made the final leg of his journey to Killarney by helicopter for the Irish Open he proceeded to kiss more women and babies than any politician during a general election campaign but he eventually succumbed to sheer physical exertion over the final two rounds.

"I guess the jet lag hit me and the adrenalin of winning (the US Open) left my body for the last two days," recalled Stewart yesterday, dapper in his own fashion line of plus-twos and eager to make an impression as the imported big-name American for the £1.5 million Smurfit European Open.

So, when he arrived in Straffan around six o'clock on Tuesday evening, he resisted the urge to go to bed early and believed his body clock was almost back in sync by the time he joined Dermot Desmond, J P McManus and Christy Roche on the first tee for yesterday's pro-am. It was familiar company. Last month, when Stewart played Waterville and Ballybunion with Tiger Woods and Mark O'Meara - each reputedly pocketing $150,000, according to Golfweek this week - it was in the company of Desmond.

The stakes are higher over the next few days and Stewart is keen to make an impression after the disappointment of missing the cut at last week's the USPGA Championship. He managed a 67 on Monday in the delayed final round of the Pebble Beach ProAm and this should help him achieve his objective of making the top 30 for the end of season Tour Championship in America. "Last year, just $5 separated 30th and 31st, so you need to take advantage of anything you can," he said.

Stewart's appearances away from the US Tour aren't too frequent these days but he claimed to "still enjoy Europe for the occasional event". This is a once-off visit and he will return to the United States next week, either in the Akron (if he wins the European Open it will get him into the World Series) or in Vancouver. "I don't go back and forth as much as I did," he admitted. "But it is part of the business and you have to learn to deal with it."

Yet, when you mention the World Tour, which will be born next year, Stewart barely conceals his doubts about whether or not it will succeed. "I don't know if it is good or bad for both sides - the US Tour and the European Tour. It is important for all of us to play more together other than in the majors and this is their way of getting everybody together.

"But are we going to see the best golf? I don't know if the purses alone will ensure that. If a player wins one of those tournaments they'll get fat and be happy to take time off. We have kids and we want to see them grow up, it would be easier to take three or four-week breaks. Money is not everything, winning championships is what I'm out for."

Stewart very nearly won another major this season. Back in June, in the US Open at the Olympic Club, he led for three and a half days but lost out to Lee Janzen at the death. "I felt I was under control the whole week and did the best I could. I just came up one short - that's the dirty part of our business - there is one winner, the rest of us are losers. It can be a bitter pill to swallow."

Yet, that remains the highlight of his season. "I had fun," he insisted of his US Open challenge, but he hopes his return to Ireland will give him something else to savour. "It's a pleasure to come to places where you're appreciated and the Irish people are special. When I was here with Mark and Tiger before the British Open we were treated so nice - and Mark told me all about here, said it was a really special place."

Just how special will unfold over the next four days, but Stewart sees one difference in his outlook compared to the younger, newer breed represented by Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood. "For them," said Stewart, "it's a matter of hunger, for me it's a passion. The hunger is for the younger kids, but I've been fed and that's where passion keeps you going."