Sometimes we're asked why we insist on our managers using up some of their budgets on a home-produced player. Well, apart from it being our modest contribution to the "Buy Irish" campaign it adds an interesting auld twist to weeks like this.

Of the nine Irish players on our list only Keith Nolan, who is the field for the Greater Hartford Open, won't be in action at Ballybunion this week and if any of the eight becomes the first Irishman in the history of the Golf Masters to win on home territory he'll earn a very nice £250,000 bonus for his managers. Add that to the £150,000 first prize for what is our third bonus tournament of the year and, well, you should jump up a place or two on the leaderboard.

We came agonisingly close to our first £400,000 winner last year when the European Open at the K Club slipped through Darren Clarke's grasp but seven of our top 10 managers (and another 6,000-odd further down the leaderboard) will be down on their prayer mats this weekend hoping he can bury that ghost in the Irish Open - and, if not, then at the K Club next week (where the same bonus prize is on offer to the Irish contingent).

Padraig Harrington appears in four of our top 10 teams, Paul McGinley in two and Des Smyth in just the one - should Gary Murphy, Eamonn Darcy, Ronan Rafferty or Philip Walton spring a surprise on Sunday afternoon expect to see a few new names on our leaderboard next week.

With Clarke and Harrington in fine fettle going in to the tournament the two top-10 managers who have both men in their line-ups - our new overall leader Fionnuala McMahon and Colin Rutherford, who has the pair in his fifth- and ninth-placed teams - might just disappear over the horizon should either man win.

Paul Ryan's hopes of regaining the lead would receive a more than significant boost should McGinley prevail, while Dermot Burke will watch Smyth's every shot from behind a cushion - if he wins Dermot will be back where he was in week 15, on top.