Mullarkey is the master manager

As a friend, inquiring about Paddy's Fourth's progress, put it to Pat Callanan recently, 'it's not over 'til the fat golfer swings' - and so it proved in the 2002 Golf Masters. After 28 weeks it all went down to the final round of the 51st and last tournament of the competition, with Roger Mullarkey's Razor Sharp (Rathmines) holding off the challenge of Pat (Portlaoise), with just €9,496 to spare, to become our eighth Golf Masters champion.

When you consider Roger and Pat's final overall totals - almost €3.7 million - the winning margin was bordering on the microscopic. Both managers, then, are left to reflect on a series of ifs, missed putts and maybes.

And both know the gap between them could have been so easily overturned if Padraig Harrington had done marginally better at the American Express World Championships, and if Thomas Bjorn had done marginally worse; if Eduardo Romero had made that putt on the 15th and if Robert Allenby hadn't; if Vijay Singh had held on for second or . . . or, if Justin Leonard had done in the final round at Mount Juliet what he had done in rounds two and three: bogeyed the 18th.

It all, Roger and Pat agree, came down to that. "If he'd taken one shot more I'd have won it," said Pat. "If he'd missed that putt for par at the last it would have been all over," said Roger. But Leonard made the putt - if he'd missed Pat would have won the competition by €790.

Meanwhile, Roger intends shaking Retief Goosen's hand, should he ever bump in to him, after the South African's final round of 62 lifted him three shots clear of Singh, who finished third. If Singh had finished second behind Tiger Woods, the position he held at the end of round three, Pat would have won the competition by roughly €5,000. If, if, and more ifs.

"I was trying to watch the All-Ireland final and the golf at the same time, which wasn't easy," said Roger, who was beginning to see Tiger in Armagh's forward line and Óisin McConville nervously holding off the challenge of Goosen.

"I was in a rugby club in Galway, trying to keep an eye on both. 'How's it going?', I shouted in to the lads watching the golf. 'Tiger's winning by three,' they said. 'No - how's Singh going?". 'Dunno,' they shrugged. They just didn't understand. I thought I was in big trouble then, if Vijay had finished second I might have been gone. The last few holes were incredibly nerve-racking - it's a great honour to have won the Golf Masters, but, to be honest, I'm still recovering from Sunday," said Roger, who finished third in 1999. "In hurling terms it was less than the puck of a ball," said Pat, "but at least we sent them home sweating."

For his runners-up spot Pat, who made his Golf Masters' debut this year, wins a luxury trip to Portugal while Roger is California bound.

Hearty congratulations, too, to Tony Hynes of Sandymount who overtook the unfortunate Vincent Maloney of Listowel to clinch third place (and a prize of €3,000), thanks to Singh and Michael Campbell's efforts at Mount Juliet.

But, what can we say to Galway's Terry Howard? He finished over €3.4 million short of Roger's total, the only manager to fail to break €300,000 earning-mark this year (i.e. he finished last). His team name, however - "Terry's Hackers" - suggests that maybe, just maybe, last place was his sole target for the year. In which case: well done Terry. And well done to ye all, enjoyed your company these past seven months.