A rather special rivalry will be renewed when Christy O'Connor Jnr and Ian Stanley join the field for the AIB £250,000 Irish Senior Open starting at Mount Juliet on Friday. It also seems likely that Denis O'Sullivan will have recovered sufficiently from a knee injury to strengthen the home challenge.
A total of 17 Irish competitors will be in action in this, the first seniors event to be staged at the splendid Thomastown venue. They are: Eddie Polland, David Jones, O'Sullivan, Paul Leonard, Joe McDermott, Ernie Jones, Bobby Browne, Arthur Spring, Tony Coveney, Christy O'Connor Snr, Tommy Halpin, O'Connor Jnr, Kenny Stevenson, Liam Higgins, Arnold O'Connor, Gordon Parkhill and Michael Murphy.
Though McDermott will be defending the title he captured at Woodbrook last year, O'Connor Jnr is very much the man of the moment. Following on a fourth-place finish ($59,000) in the Home Depot Invitational two weeks ago, he maintained outstanding form on the US Seniors' Tour by finishing tied for third ($90,000) behind Hale Irwin in the Nationwide Championship in Georgia last weekend.
O'Connor actually harboured thoughts of victory after a run of four birdies from the fifth brought him to seven under par for the tournament. But a screaming baby disturbed his concentration on the ninth, leading to a costly bogey.
He kept his game together well, however, in searing heat and birdied the par five closing hole to set the clubhouse target on seven under. At that stage there was still the possibility of a play-off with any of the three leaders on the course, Irwin, Bob Murphy and Jose-Maria Canizares.
In the event, such notions were dashed when Irwin holed a 74-yard wedge shot at the last for an eagle and an improbable two-stroke victory on 10 under. Murphy took second spot on his own with O'Connor and Canizares a shot further back.
The dramatic turn of events on the closing hole prompted Irwin to do a victory lap - trading low-fives with spectators as he had done when winning his third US Open at Medinah in 1990. The eagle was only his second of the year.
"I've never done this on the last hole for a win," said Irwin, who had laid up with a five-iron to have a comfortable pitching distance.
While his venerable uncle returns to the scene of a memorable exhibition match against Jack Nicklaus to mark the opening of Mount Juliet in 1991, O'Connor Jnr will be renewing a special link with Stanley. At Westwark Ho! on June 14th 1975, the pair had the rare distinction of being joint winners of the Martini International Tournament, each receiving a cheque for £1,875.
Two months later, O'Connor captured the revived Irish Open at Woodbrook where another Australian, Bob Shearer, finished fourth. As it happens, Shearer is also in the Mount Juliet field, along with such notable contemporaries as Tony Jacklin, Brian Barnes and Bernard Gallacher.
Meanwhile, O'Sullivan arrived back in Cork on Saturday afternoon having sustained cartilage damage of the left knee in a freak accident in Turkey the previous day. When preparing on the putting green to compete in the Beko Classic, his hat blew off in the strong wind and in attempting to retrieve it, he twisted the limb.
"I saw a specialist immediately I got home and though it was very sore at the time, the knee is now much improved," said O'Sullivan yesterday. "I have decided not to play in Wednesday's pro-am but I am very optimistic of being all right by Friday."
He went on: "I'm really keen to play at Mount Juliet, if only to make up for the disappointment of Turkey. As a precaution, I used crutches to get around at the weekend and am how heading off for another visit to the specialist. I will be guided by him, but things are looking good."
O'Connor's performances in the US give the tournament a timely boost. They also suggest that the Galwayman is not mistaken in his conviction that he can make a serious impact there, to the extent of becoming a regular competitor.
