Walton leads way at Botham event

Fresh from spending every day of last weekend welded to the Ryder Cup, Philip Walton yesterday took some of the winning K Club karma to Kerry to lead in the first day of the Ian Botham Celebrity Charity Pro-Am in aid of Children's Leukaemia.

Walton, who sank the winning Ryder Cup putt in 1995 at Oak Hills when he took on Jay Haas in the final game in the singles, finished his first round at one under par for the difficult Ring of Kerry Golf and Country Club.

The event is one of the richest in the Irish calendar and Walton, who is currently lying eighth in the Irish Order of Merit after the most recent PGA Irish Championship at Druids Health just over a week ago, heads the field from the level-par group of Paddy O'Boyle, Barrie Trainor, Jimmy Hegarty and Killarney's Keith Coveney.

With a €25,000 prize fund, from which the winner will receive €2,750, the field of 40 includes most of the Irish professionals with the exception of around 15 or so, who are hoping to qualify for the European Tour at St Anne's Old Links in Lytham, Blackpool.

Like at Straffan, however, the weather also played its part yesterday around this picturesque course, most things coming up short as the rain and mist closed in late morning and early afternoon. As a result many of the players were trailing in at dusk and in fading light.

"When you get to the greens, you have to be careful," said Walton of the course, which is just outside Kenmare town. "They were very wet today, which it made it that bit easier. But this is one tough golf course.

"Maybe it's the time of year. I missed a couple of the fairways by a foot or so and got a few bad lies and the clubbing was quite difficult because of the wet. They were coming up short a lot."

When Walton sank his putt for Europe's win, he didn't realise that it was the winning putt. But like most people last week, he was stunned by the reaction of the crowd to the players.

"It was strange but nice to be on the other side of the ropes. The crowd were unreal. They brought the players along. I didn't realise I was doing it (sinking the last putt) but Stenson knew the back-up was there anyway. They totally annihilated them."