It's being hailed, with some justification, as Europe's biggest tournament of the season, outside the British Open, even if the venue in Germany will mean nothing to people in these parts. For the most doubting devotee, it is enough that Tiger Woods, Mark O'Meara, Ernie Els and Nick Price are among the definite starters.
The fact that the cumbersomely-named Deutsche Bank-SAP Open TPC of Europe at St Leon Rot, Heidelberg, on May 21st to 24th could contemplate such a line-up is thoroughly fascinating. Officials of the Murphy's Irish Open would certainly find it so, as would the organisers of the Desert Classic in Dubai - especially those who were around in 1995.
That was when these two events incurred the wrath of European Tour executive director, Ken Schofield, over appearance money. On that occasion, Greg Norman, Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam collected appearance fees for playing at Mount Juliet.
Norman had been involved earlier in the season in a high-profile line-up in Dubai, which also included Fred Couples and Price. And the problem was that these players were collectively paid more in appearance fees than the European Tour regulation of 25 per cent of the prize fund. In the Irish Open, this was Stg£666,666 while Dubai had Stg-£600,000 on offer.
Only the seriously naive could believe that Couples, Norman and reigning British Open champion Price had played for a combined £150,000 in appearance fees and that Norman, Langer and Woosnam committed to Mount Juliet for £166,000. So, Schofield slated both tournaments publicly before conveying his displeasure in writing.
Which brings us to the German event. From a prize fund of Stg-£1.2 million (€1.68m) we are to believe that they have lined up Woods et al, along with Lee Westwood, for no more than £300,000 in appearance money.
Could the Germans be over-stepping the mark, in a manner of speaking? They most certainly are, if one is to believe reports emanating from the US. Els is quoted by an American magazine as saying: "The guy (owner of the host venue) is loaded and he likes to spend."
When asked if Woods's appearance fee would be $1 million, the South African replied: "Probably close to it." It is understood that the world number one declined an invitation to compete in Dubai last month because they wouldn't match his asking price. So they got O'Meara for a lesser sum.
Even if Woods, guided by Mark McCormack's International Management Group, was suddenly to become philanthropic, it is still unlikely he would settle for less than £250,000 in Germany. Throw in £100,000 for each of the other three and £50,000 for Westwood and you have a grand total of £600,000 - half the prize fund.
Does this signal a change of policy by the European Tour? If so, I'm sure the organisers of the Irish Open would be delighted to hear about it.
"The first thing I'd do is take his season badge away from him." The notoriously humourless Clifford Roberts, former chairman of Augusta National, on being asked what he would do in the event of a streaker at the US Masters.
CERTAIN modern architects have taken to using double greens as a design gimmick. But they are seen to be entirely functional as a space-saving device on the Old Course at St Andrews, which covers only 83 acres and has seven double greens. Greg Norman, whose proposed layout at Doonbeg, Co Clare, is going at a snail's pace, courtesy of the European Commission, has now taken the idea a step further.
In designing the new, Great White Course at Doral, he is incorporating the unique feature of a 2,000 square-yard triple green for the 11th, 13th and 17th holes. "We must try and make the best possible use of the space we have," said Norman of the 105-acre site, which is unusually tight by modern standards.
The new stretch, expected to cost in the region of $7 million, is being built on the existing White Course and par-three layout and will be completed by December. Interestingly, at a time when rough is being allowed to grow for the first time at Augusta National, it will have no rough and no cartpaths.
RYDER CUP fever is sweeping Boston, with all the inevitable financial implications. Like the fact that the Bank of Boston are to pay $500,000 for the use of the Charles River GC during the week of the tournament. And when people expressed shock at this seemingly outrageous figure, it transpired that the bankers had clinched themselves a decidedly sweet deal.
For Brae Burn CC, which played host to the Curtis Cup on two occasions, are to receive no less than $700,000 for a one-day event sponsored by the International Management Group. Word is that amateur spots in the tournament are being sold for $10,000 each, while IMG's most celebrated client, Arnold Palmer, is expected to be among the competing professionals.
BY WAY of an addendum to last week's piece about Henry Longhurst, it may be interesting to share some of his thoughts on bad temper in golf. I was especially taken by the story told to him by another distinguished writer, Bernard Darwin, about a well-known Scottish amateur before World War I.
Incidentally, Longhurst claimed that Darwin "got really cross at golf" and "had a kind of love-hate relationship with the game for the best part of 70 years." An accomplished player, he was still not averse to the odd bad shot and after one such incident at Rye, he muttered savagely to himself: "Why do I play this ******* game? I do hate it so."
As to the Scottish amateur, Longhurst wrote: "Though a big man, he made the discovery, as people do from time to time, that you can putt remarkably well one-handed, with a little putter about the size of a carpenter's hammer. As always happens, it lasted splendidly for a while but proved fallible in the end.
"The climax came when he missed a tiddler with it on the ninth green at Muirfield. Raising himself to his full height, he flung it against the grey stone wall bordering the green. `You little *******!' he cried. `Never presume upon my good nature again!"'
WE IRISH can be rather good at using friends in high places. And given Mark O'Meara's status as holder of the US Masters and British Open titles, it is a considerable bonus for the country's golfing image abroad that he is more than happy to talk about his Tipperary ancestry - in promotional material.
But he clearly draws the line at food, judging from the menu he has chosen for next month's Masters champions dinner at Augusta National. No, it's not Irish stew. The main course will be steak and chicken fajitas, prefaced by sushi at the pre-dinner cocktail party. "Hopefully, all the guys will like it," he said.
Paddy O'Looney of SWING, certainly likes the special, introductory piece which O'Meara contributed, free of charge, to the company's brochure for this season. It was his way of showing his appreciation for the hospitality extended to himself and Tiger Woods during their visit to Waterville and Ballybunion last July. And he wrote, in part: "Those SWING courses helped me realise the dream of a lifetime - victory in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale the following week."
This latest gesture by O'Meara, whose maternal grandmother was an O'Leary, comes after contract work for Bord Failte, involving promotional material about Irish golf in the print media in the US.
THIS DAY IN GOLF HISTORY . . . On March 20th 1941, Sam Snead shot an aggregate of 277 for first prize of $1,000 in the North and South Open at Pinehurst CC. It was to be one of seven tournaments captured by Snead that year, the others being the Bing Crosby, St Petersburg Open, St Augustine Pro-Am, Canadian Open, Rochester Times Union Open and the Henry Hurst Invitational. But Snead won 11 tournaments in 1950.
The North and South was inaugurated in 1903 when it was won by Donald Ross, who had learned the game as an apprentice to Old Tom Morris. Snead won it on three occasions - 1941, 1949 and 1950 - and was runner-up to Ben Hogan on three occasions. It was discontinued after Tommy Bolt was victorious in 1952.
TEASER: In a match, a player and his opponent play their second shots on a par-five hole. Unexpectedly, neither ball can be found. Rather than proceeding under Rule 27-1 (Ball lost or out of bounds), both players agree to a half. Is this permitted?
ANSWER: Yes. An agreement to halve a hole being played does not of itself constitute an agreement to waive the rules. However, if the players agree to consider a particularly difficult hole halved without either player making a stroke, they should be disqualified under Rule 1-3 for agreeing to exclude the operation of Rule 2-3 by failing to play the stipulated round.
