Good times roll again for rejuvenated Corkman

Life hasn't been so rough on John McHenry that he has had to re-mortgage the house or doss down in a cardboard box. But when you're a professional golfer, and the cash-flow is all one way, you're entitled to feel the gods aren't always conspiring in your favour.

In his own words, McHenry has earned "precisely nothing" so far this season. Making the most of his sponsor's invite to Druids Glen, however, the spring was back in the Corkman's step as he crossed the suspension bridge from the ninth tee-box to the fairway yesterday safe in the knowledge that he'd secured his first pay-cheque on the European Tour since March 30th, 1997.

Not only had McHenry survived the cut, but he had also managed to ignore the bogeyman who wreaked havoc with most of his compatriots to manoeuvre his way into contention for a title which has evaded Irish hands for 16 years.

McHenry's rebirth as a touring pro is an unlikely one, crafted on the Canadian Tour. The circuit there is like a mini-tour and roughly equivalent to the European Challenge Tour - "It's full of Americans, Australians and Japanese, and they consider it a breeding ground for the US and European tours," said McHenry - and the move was taken having spent the guts of two years considering quitting the game he loves so well.

Quit? Every time it was raised in family discussions it caused his stomach to churn, and the bug of actually competing and playing wouldn't go away.

"Finding another job, in golf, possibly in the marketing side of things, went through my head for the past two years. We sat down before the start of this season and it was decided that I should plough on. I've no sponsor anymore and, looking at the bottom line, we were aware it was a pivotal year. I knew I needed to earn some money and grind out some form."

So, with the blessing of his wife Sylvia, he took a route no other Irishman had considered and hit the Canadian circuit. There was nothing to suggest the move had brought a miracle cure. In four tournaments in Canada he missed four cuts and there was no evidence that a return to Druids Glen, where, he admitted "the course crushed me last year", would be covered in glory. Thankfully, the past couple of days in the Wicklow hills have shown that McHenry's inner strength, helped by visits to Peter Dennison, a sports psychologist based in Portadown, have shown such a judgment to be as wide of the mark as a slice.

"It was a difficult four weeks but, at the back of my mind, I knew I had the Irish Open coming up and that helped me to keep focused," said McHenry. "If I hadn't gone to Canada I wouldn't have been playing any competitive golf. The alternative was to seek invites to tournaments on the Challenge Tour, which I knew would be sporadic. I'd been down that road before, and I didn't want to go down it again."

The move to Canada brought a new sense of purpose for a player who has endured his fair share of bad fortune since moving to the professional ranks in 1987 after a glittering amateur career. Most frustratingly, McHenry had to write off the 1996 season after breaking a small bone in his hand which made it "impossible to even hold a golf club". Typically, given his work ethic, the injury occurred while he was on the practice range at a tournament in Italy that April. Last season, he retained his tour card thanks to a medical exemption. But he only got into six tournaments, made one cut - at the Madeira Island Open in March, where he finished in a share of 37th place - and finished the season with earnings of just £2,100. However, a runners-up finish to Paul McGinley in last September's Smurfit Irish PGA Championship in Fota Island hinted that his gift was still there. Despite that crushing experience in Druids last year, the Irish Open has always brought out the best in him. At Mount Juliet in 1993, he shared the lead with Jose Maria Olazabal going into the final round (eventually finishing in a share of 14th position) and, the following year he was leading Irishman in tied-15th.

"Don't mention deja vu,"said McHenry. The move to Canada - while his two children stayed in Cork - rejuvenated his golf and his form over the opening two rounds has ensured a return to the limelight. It also means he won't be able to keep an appointment to act as godfather to his sister Niamh's daughter this afternoon. No-one will complain about that.