Janzen cause of Murnaghan ire

Is there anything more frustrating in Golf Masters' life than scoring a huge £474,000 in one tournament, yet still missing out on a fourball to Mount Juliet? Well, yes, according to Justyne Murnaghan - being beaten to the weekly prize by your father.

"Google, google, Da, Da, blub, blub, Lee Janzen yuckie," she said, when we phoned her at home yesterday afternoon. (Janzen, incidentally, is "yuckie" because he missed the cut at the PGA Championship and, in Justyne's view, cost her a fourball).

So, Daddy is happy then? "Yep, Da, Da, fourball, fourball, fourball, fourball," she said, in reference to her triumphant father (now known as Tony "fourball" Murnaghan at Golf Masters' HQ) whose White Smoke team this week won him his third trip to Mount Juliet in seven weeks, to add to the one he won last year).

Actually, to be honest, Justyne didn't say a whole lot when we rang because she was busy chewing her father's shoelaces at the time. "It's probably just as well she didn't win, seeing as she's only one-and-a-half," said Tony. "Instead of four caddy cars there would have been four buggies zipping around Mount Juliet." "Blubbedy, blubbedy," agreed Justyne.

Despite insisting that he's "just lucky" Tony has spent the past few weeks tinkering with the line-up of White Smoke (which is 4,803rd overall), with a fourball-success in mind. Six of the team are American-based and he hoped that they might finish top of the pile last week, when the only tournament in our schedule was the Buick Open . . . but the disqualification of both PH Horgan and Frank Lickliter put paid to that.

Lickliter came good this week, though, taking a share of fourth at Sahalee while Horgan, along with team mate Glen Day, finished in the top 50. Justin Leonard picked up another £1,000, for missing the cut, and then there was the small matter of recent recruit Vijay Singh and Steve Stricker filling the top two places in the tournament - all of which means Tony should give serious thought to moving to Kilkenny, just to save him the weekly journeys from his Stillorgan home.

Bad news, though, for the Mount Juliet regular on the overall leaderboard, after the team he manages with his brother Brian, Bargain Basement, slipped from first to fifth this week. Taking over at the top is another Dubliner, Paul Sheehan, who now has three teams in the top seven and another two in 17th and 26th places.

Paul led the competition for the first time back in week 21, when Pauly 2 (now 26th) went top, and has Stricker, Billy Mayfair (joint seventh at the PGA Championship), Scott Hoch (tied for 29th) and Bob Estes (joint 34th) to thank for sending Paul 8 to first overall. Paul 1, meanwhile, leapt from 25th to third after its manager made one of those transfers most of our entrants can only dream about . . . he brought Singh into the team just a couple of weeks ago.

Transfers, however, are the bane of our leader's life at the moment. "I go to bed at night thinking about them - I really envy people who used them all up earlier in the competition because at least they can get some sleep," he said, revealing that he still has two transfers left for his leading team. "I will, probably, use the transfers but I've gone through about 20 different players and I just can't make up my mind who to bring in."

`I wish it was over. Let me rephrase that - I wish it was over and I had it won. In fact I'm thinking of re-naming Paul 8, Show me the Money. Mind you, if I DO win I'll have about £200 to myself because the family have the rest spent already. They have no interest in golf whatsoever but as soon as I mentioned the first prize they became VERY interested indeed." Curious, that.

All eyes in the Sheehan household will be on this week's European Open at the K Club and the Sprint International in Colorado. Remember, the European Open is a bonus tournament (offering one and a half times the regular prize money) and should there be an Irish winner he will receive 400,000 Golf Masters' pounds for his troubles.