Irish Open Diary

Darren Clarke went straight from playing in yesterday's pro-am to officially launch his latest course design project, the Castle Dargan Country Estate, encompassing a hotel, houses, golf course and spa facilities at Ballygawley, Co Sligo.

Working alongside respected designer Patrick Merrigan, and having been handed a brief from the developer, Dermot Fallon, Clarke has created a parkland test on the 170-acre site. Clarke became animated when asked about the design.

"What are the trademarks? Probably a very exciting finish with short holes towards the end; always trying to finish with the par fives and to give a lot of opportunities in a tournament for things to change. I wanted to try and make the course playable for every type of player, for people who have just started the game to people like ourselves, and make it interesting for them and fun at the same time.

"One of the things that excited me about Castle Dargan was the prospect of putting into Sligo a parkland course that would complement the famous links at Rosses Point. I am happy that we have achieved that."

The course will be open for play late next summer.

Browne breaks in

Stephen Browne's patient vigil as first reserve over the past 72 hours finally bore fruition yesterday with a coveted place in the field. The Dubliner was first reserve for the tournament and shortly before tea-time yesterday he won a starting slot when Stephen Webster was forced to withdraw with blistered feet. Browne, who won his card at Tour School last year, was recently re-ranked down nine places and so had to wait on the periphery of this tournament.

The former European Amateur Individual Strokeplay champion is no stranger to the Montgomerie course as this is where he practised over the winter. No player in the field has played more rounds over this demanding layout.

Could this be the break Browne has been waiting for in what has been a tough start to the season?

An ace class of car

The carrot of a car is once again on offer this week. Title sponsors Nissan will offer a 350Z Roadster for the first player to get a hole-in-one at the par three 17th. The car is valued at €58,500, goes from 0-60 in 5.9 seconds and has a top speed of 155mph.

Best finisher to fly high

There is no shortage of loot on offer for the professionals, as drinks company Red Bull will reward the player who negotiates the final five holes in the fewest number of shots over the four rounds with the use of a private jet for the season.

The winner will win 10,000 air miles on a private jet (Cessna Citation Excel) to transport himself, family and friends as he negotiates his playing schedule in Europe. The plane seats eight and travels at 500mph. The cost to purchase the jet outright would be a cool €8,774, 942.59. Presumably they'd let you off the 59 cent.

Ginger plays the looper

The enduring friendships forged on the rugby pitch was evident during the pro-am. Leicester Tigers chief executive and former England international hooker Peter Wheeler teed it up alongside Colin Montgomerie, John Cushnahan and agent to several of the Ireland rugby team John Baker.

However, one or two older spectators might have recognised the man who was pulling Wheeler's bag: none other than legendary Irish prop Ray McLoughlin.

Given that it was raining and the course was playing long, the latter's dedication was noteworthy.

Watch the Swede

Those looking for a little form guide could do worse than invest a little stake in Swede Robert Karlsson (50 to1) who is reputed to have knocked it round in the pro-am in a hugely impressive six-under-par 66.

Beware wounded golfer

Padraig Harrington certainly didn't let any neck strain bother him as he led his team to victory in yesterday's pro-am. Along with Tony Kelly, Kate Moriarty and Nick Cuttiford, the Harrington-led ensemble returned an 11-under-par 61, a superb effort in difficult conditions.

They had a couple of shots to spare over professional David Park, Henry O'Neill, AIB's Jim Kelly and Paddy Moore. The latter had a better back six than the Darren Clarke-inspired team that included Carton House's owner Lee Mallaghan, his son Conor and Tom Shaw.

PRO-AM RESULTS (Top 10). 61 - P Harrington, T Kelly, K Moriarty, N Cuttiford. 63 - D Park, H O'Neill, J Kelly, P Moore; D Clarke, L Mallaghan, C Mallaghan, T Shaw. 64 - E Romero, F O'Nolan, P Kelly, B Curtis; B Rumford, G Breen, W Wade, T Close; P Hanson, J Deenihan, D Cassidy, P O'Looney. 65 - P Lawrie, P Whelan, P Lynch, D O'Sullivan; D Carter, E Rothwell, S Henig, E McKeon; D Lynn, T Cleary, R Cosgrave, E O'Doherty; M A Jimenez, T Cotter, T Haugh, M Connolly.