Mount Juliet Diary

It appears the message to those wishing to travel to Mount Juliet for the World Golf Championship over the next four days shouldn't come overburdened with possessions. All bags and containers will be checked at the entry points so to avoid long security searches it's recommended fans travel light.

Given the number of golf elite in situ; armed security, a bomb disposal unit, sniffer dogs and the Garda special response unit will be present at the estate. There will be a heavy security presence throughout Mount Juliet.

The benefits for the area, particularly the bars, restaurants and local accommodation will be huge with houses in close proximity to the course receiving the asking price of €3,000 for a week's rent. The tournament along with the National Ploughing Championships in Tullow are expected to make it a bumper weekend for Kilkenny.

Hamilton highs

If you were to ask Todd Hamilton the video he enjoys most it'd probably be the one sent to him by a fan from California. The British Open champion received a package that contained footage of all rounds with the commercials edited out.

So on a slow night recently he dug out the video and sat there and watched his victory at Troon. The edited version really appealed to him given the frequency of ad breaks in American. And did he find himself getting emotional? "A little bit yes. It's finally settling in what happened."

Goosen pitch

Retief Goosen, an integral member of the Rest of the World team that takes on the Americans every couple of years in the Presidents Cup would fancy a crack at the Europeans. The South African confirmed he watched some of the recent Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills, the Friday and Sunday to be specific.

"I think that (playing against Europe) would be a great idea, have sort of a round-robin thing going. I don't know if the guys want to play something like that every year. But it would be good to have a match against Europe."

Goosen, when asked about the Americans defeat in Detroit, suggested they just didn't mix well on the occasions.

"You take a chance with who you put with who. If two guys don't blend on the first few holes, if you lose a bit of confidence, it's difficult to get it going: the Europeans were just playing perfect and killed it."

Happy returns

Fáilte Ireland invested a1 million in a sponsorship deal that secured the return of the WGC - American Express Championship to Mount Juliet. The financial input, through the International Sports Tourism Initiative, is part of a €2 million investment in international golf tournaments staged in Ireland in 2004 a 160 million boost to the Irish golf tourism dividend.

Els gets serious

It seems that Ernie Els is going to rein back on the Irish hospitality this week, principally pints of the black stuff. "I used to play the Irish Open quite a lot. I don't think I've ever really threatened to be honest with you. I think I've enjoyed myself too much."

When asked if that would be because of the Guinness, the South African smiled: "Exactly, and the Murphys. I've had some great times in Ireland. I'm holding out for the best this week. The crowds are going to be great."