DESMOND O'SHEA,
Sir, - Last Saturday Tom Humphries set out for the first tee, his bag laden with complexes and hang-ups. Aiming his opening drive at the distaff quotient of the Ryder Cup cadre, he landed in the rough and spent the rest of his first nine flailing away at their hair colour, teeth, apparel, shoes and demeanour. On his back nine our hero attacked the flags of courtesy, sportsmanship and good behaviour. On Monday our duffer appeared again, scratching his head, wondering if he was on the right course.
Undaunted, he teed off and rifled balls in all directions - at his Sports Editor, the concept of a European team, Tony Blair, war on Iraq, golfer's surnames and the relevance of the tournament itself. Perhaps Tom finds the sports pages too restrictive. Maybe it would be possible to find him a proposer and seconder for membership of the OpEd country club where there is no out of bounds, and mean-spirited bias is not considered a handicap. - Yours, etc.,
DESMOND O'SHEA, Dublin 4.