SEVE BALLESTEROS will be joining Ernie Els in the field for the £750,000 Murphy's Irish Open at Druid's Glen on July 4th-7th. But the sponsors will be staying within the European Tour guidelines on appearance fees, which means they can hand out no more than 25 per cent of the prize fund approximately £187,000.
Arising out of appearances by Greg Norman in Dubai, at Mount Juliet and in the German Masters last year, the tour expressed their concern in writing to the relevant sponsors including Murphy's. This was prompted essentially by the fact that appearance fees for the Desert Classic were actually greater than the £450,000 prize fund. The regulations were also breached in the other two events.
Irish Open officials took exception to being rapped on the knuckles. Their view was that the reported fee of $350,000 paid to Norman was actually a marketing deal, not appearance money. In the absence of the Shark on this occasion, however, they have agreed to toe the line, though they point out, quite reasonably, that the prize fund has been increased by £200,000 since Murphy's took over sponsorship of the event in November 1993.
The return of Ballesteros is hardly major news, given the back problems which caused him to take a five-month break from the game after last September's Ryder Cup and which caused him to withdraw from the Players' Championship last weekend. But he will clearly be an addition to the Irish Open field should he happen to return to form over the next few months.
In a broader context, he has the status of being Ryder Cup captain for 1997 at Valderrama and is, of course, a three-time winner of the Irish Open. One suspects there is still another important name to be announced, to add to Els and defending champion Sam Torrance.
Eamonn Darcy, the resident professional at Druid's Glen was pleased with the condition of the course yesterday after a round with some friends. "The grounds staff have done tremendous work during the winter and, with a bit of heat, the course will soon be looking its best," said Darcy, who shot a two-under-par 69.
From the original layout, designed by Pat Ruddy and Tom Craddock, the long sixth has been reduced to a 476-yard par tour the par-four 16th is now a par-five measuring 535 yards and the long 18th becomes a formidable par-four finishing hole of 452 yards, played uphill. So, the revised course has an overall length of 7,025 yards for a par of 71. "And that's long enough for anyone," smiled Darcy.
Meanwhile, details of the week's activities along with the various logistical arrangements were outlined at a reception last night. There will be a Canon Shoot-out at 3.0 on the Tuesday and an international pro-am starting at 7.30 on Wednesday. Advance information is available from three sources: golf - (01) 6622231; accommodation - (01) 8726055; public transport - (01) 8366111 (bus), (01) 8366222 (rail).
Through consultation with the local gardai, one-way traffic systems, operating from 8.0 am to 8.0 pm, have been devised for access and egress at Druid's Glen. One route will take southbound traffic from Greystones via Kilcoole. There are also separate routes off the N11 for southbound and northbound traffic on either side of Newtownmountkennedy.
The fourth staging of the Irish Club Professional Championship is scheduled for Headfort on July 30th and 31st, with a pro-am on Monday the 29th. David Jones will be defending the title and it is expected that at least 120 Irish Region colleagues will be competing for a prize fund of £15,000.
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