You can't beat loyalty. Angel Cabrera, feted in his native Argentina since his triumph in the US Open at Oakmont just over a week ago, has decided to fast forward his return to the European Tour by a week in order to play in next week's Smurfit Kappa European Open at The K Club, where he will kick start his run-up to next month's British Open.
The player, known as "El Gato" or "The Duck" for his on-course gait, has spent the past week at home in Argentina while being treated as a national hero following his maiden major victory and he has decided to maintain an unbroken association with the European Open by heading the field at next week's 3.6 million tournament.
Cabrera has been an ever-present in the European Open since making his debut on the Palmer Course in 1996, producing a best finish of second behind Lee Westwood in 2000. On the two occasions that he played on the Smurfit Course - where next week's event takes place - Cabrera was tied-eighth in 2004 and tied-17th in 2006.
Niclas Fasth, winner of the BMW International in Munich at the weekend, has also confirmed he will be playing. And there was further good news for the tournament yesterday when England's David Howell - a key member of the successful Ryder Cup winning team last year - signalled that he will be using the European Open as the platform for his comeback.
Howell has been hampered by injury of late, pulling out of the Players Championship after just two holes due to a back injury and then withdrawing from the US Open prior to the championship because of a wrist injury which has cleared up.
While Darren Clarke is still included in the entry list, he is unlikely to play. Rather, Clarke is hoping to play in next week's AT&T National tournament at Congressional, hosted by Tiger Woods, which is confined to 120 invited players.
The Ulsterman is seeking to boost his FedEx Cup standings on the US PGA (with a view to making the Barclays Classic in late-August, the first of the competition's four play-off tournaments). Barclays are one of Clarke's main sponsors and he badly wants to play in that event.
The inclusion of Westwood in the field for next week - where Padraig Harrington will be looking to add the title to the Irish Open - means there will be nine past champions of the European Open competing, including defending champion Stephen Dodd.
Philip Walton, who has been given a sponsor's invite to play in next week's European Open, is part of a six-strong Irish challenge at the French Open. Walton is joined by Paul McGinley, Damien McGrane, Graeme McDowell, Peter Lawrie and Gary Murphy in France.
