Irish return to favoured venue

Tour Scene News round-up: It's the course as much as the tournament which evokes memories of great Irish exploits. Christy O'Connor's two-iron, Paul McGinley's 10-foot putt, were framed within the fairways of the Belfry. The Ryder Cup nostalgia inspires an almost emotional attachment with a golfing venue.

Tomorrow the European Tour returns to the Sutton Coldfield course, the tournament marking the final staging of the International Open after 33 years and the re-emergence of several of Europe's heavy hitters, including Retief Goosen and Padraig Harrington.

Included in the roll of honour is Darren Clarke, winner in 1998, when the event was staged on the Oxfordshire course.

There should have been a second Irishman on the honours board, Padraig Harrington. In 2000, at The Belfry he spreadeagled the field over three rounds, including posting a course record 64 over the penultimate 18 holes, to lead his closest pursuers by five shots.

On the final day it came to light that following the first round his card had been incorrectly signed, with playing partner Michael Campbell scribbling his John Henry under the player's score, with Harrington signing under the marker's heading. It seems inconsequential, it is inconsequential: except in the rules of golf.

The Dubliner was disqualified and Jose Maria Olazabal went on to claim a second title. Harrington bore this reverse with great dignity and was correctly lauded for an exceptional attitude to the setback. Last year the Irishman finished tied third behind champion Angel Cabrera and Barry Lane, joined on that mark by Campbell and Colin Montgomerie.

If ever a tournament owed something to a player then Harrington's case is pretty compelling. He won't, of course, regard it like that. He hasn't played since his disappointing outing at last month's US Masters, when he finished tied 50th, but his affinity for the course and the fact that he plays well here should offset any rustiness.

Clarke, too, has enjoyed something of a mini-break since his extended schedule in the US, where he performed extremely well. It culminated in a reasonably good showing in the Heritage at Hilton Head without ever putting himself in contention to win. This will be the Ulsterman's first European Tour event proper since Dubai, when he finished tied 11th.

On his bag is JP Fitzgerald, whose 15 minutes of fame was when he provided McGinley, his former employer, with the line on the 18th green for the 10-foot putt that won the Ryder Cup for Europe last year. McGinley holed to earn a half against Jim Furyk; an impromptu bath in the lake that guards the hole then followed.

Clarke would love to have a similar putt come Sunday. He begins his week today with a five-hole mini-tournament for previous champions.

McGinley is showing signs of form, manifest in his tied 10th finish at the Canarias Open de Espana, where he actually led at one point during the final round. Having finished tied 18th at the International Open in 2000, he improved to the runners-up spot 12 months later alongside Argentinian Angel Cabrera, three shots behind winner Henrik Stenson.

Cabrera would go on to prevail the following year, although when he tees it up tomorrow he will be aware that no champion has successfully defended his crown.

The Irish contingent is bolstered by Peter Lawrie, who didn't play last week in Italy following his brilliant second place in Spain, Graeme McDowell, Ronan Rafferty, Damien McGrane and Gary Murphy.

McDowell is 141st in the Volvo Order of Merit, his best finish tied 16th at the Algarve Open. For McGrane and Murphy the International Open marks the first of two ranking watersheds this season. Players in Category 11 of the tour will be re-ranked as follows: the top 20 official money winners from within Category 11 will be ranked 1-20 in money order in that category and the remainder will follow on in the order established at the Qualifying School. The second re-ranking comes on August 11th.

Murphy has slipped from his qualifying school position of sixth to 13th while McGrane has moved up from 38th to 20th.

Meanwhile, on the US Tour, Steve Flesch rallied from a seven-shot deficit and sank a 30-foot birdie putt on the first play-off hole to defeat Bob Estes in the New Orleans Classic on Sunday.

Flesch shot a seven-under 65 to reach 21-under 267, and then entered a play-off with Estes after he had shot a 69.

The 35-year-old was two groups ahead of the final pairing of Estes and Scott Verplank and he played the final 56 holes without a bogey. He became the Tour's second first-time winner this season with his victory.

Verplank bogeyed the par-four 16th and then double-bogeyed the par-four 18th to see his chance to win slip away.