THE first swallow may have been sighted, but that is no guarantee of fine weather especially around Easter time at Rosses Point and, on the evidence of yesterday, whoever eventually claims the first amateur `major' of the season the West of Ireland championship, sponsored by Ulster Bank will have to do it the hard way.

Only some brave men undertook to play a practice round over the County Sligo links yesterday, but even the likes of Barry Reddan, a past winner, was forced to admit his folly as the cold winds lashed in from the Atlantic.

"I just hope it's not like this tomorrow, or it could be unplayable," said Reddan, as he headed for the shelter of the clubhouse after managing just three holes.

The 1978 champion's view was a pessimistic one, but nevertheless presented an indication of the task ahead of the 132 players who set out today for the first of two rounds of stroke play qualifying before the field is cut to 64 for the match play stages which commence on Sunday.

If the same wind does prevail, however, some high scores will be recorded and could well make qualifying something of a lottery, even for pre-tournament favourites. An example of just how tough conditions were in practice yesterday is that Eddie Power, a two times Irish Close champion, couldn't reach the 17th green (the hole" is 455 yards long) despite using two drivers. "I was still 30 yards short in two," said Power, who battled his way, through 10 holes.

The Tramore man also reckoned that the only way to make the green at the 2 15 yard par 3 16th yesterday was with "a driver or a well struck one iron." And, with the forecast for similar conditions during qualifying, the homeward stretch from the 13th hole could prove very interesting indeed.

Yet, the main priority for, the so called "top guns" over the two days of qualifying is simply survival. The list of the big names who will riot be competing this year includes Walker Cup player Jody Fanagan required for Britain and Ireland squad duty and holder Eamonn Brady, along with fellow USA scholarship students Keith Nolan, Bryan Omelia and Ritchie Coughlan. Add in the fact that previous winner Padraig Harrington has departed for a professional life style, and there is plenty of incentive for new and old alike in the quest for the 1996 version of the `West' title.

If the horses for courses theory holds any sway, then Garth McGimpsey winner in 1984, 1988 and most recently in 1993 will again be a prime candidate, as will local man Ken Kearney, the 1992 champion. Other former champions included in the field are Colin Glasgow, Noel McGrane, Padraig McInerney and Arthur Pierse.

"I think Garth and Ken could be the players we all have to beat," admitted Power, echoing the thoughts of many others. However, there are enough young pretenders in the field to make life extremely difficult for the main contenders and, given the early stage of the season, no one is quite sure who is in the best shape to launch a championship challenge.

McGimpsey, always a player to grit his teeth when the going gets tough, and Kearney, who still feels he has a point to prove to the Walker Cup selectors, are the two most obvious candidates. Interestingly, they are the only two of the past six champions in this year's field Brady is in the United States Harrington is now a professional while Niall Goulding, winner in both 1990 and `91, is awaiting reinstatement to the amateur ranks after a brief fling with the professional game.

With one of the lowest handicap acceptance levels in recent years 2.7 however, there is still a look of quality about this field, and many eyes will focus on the exploits of some of the younger players, like UCD's Peter Lawrie, Scrabo's Andrew McCormack, Portmarnock's Noel Fox, Castletroy's Stephen Maloney and Gavin Lunny of Naas. Any one of them are capable of following in the footsteps of Brady.

There were seven pre-championship withdrawals yesterday, the most notable being Royal Dublin's John Hutchinson, with the vacancies filled from the reserve list.

Whatever about the weather, the players won't have too many complaints about the condition of the course, with the greens in better shape than in recent years. Hopefully, however, they will be able to keep the ball on the green something which the increasingly strong wind made impossible for Barry Reddan on the fourth green in his practice round yesterday.

Maybe it will all be quite different in the heat of competition, which commences this morning.