GOLF/Irish Women's Open: Raquel Carriedo will defend the €165,000 Women's Irish Professional Open at Killarney today, in circumstances unique in this country. Its staging on the Lackabane course means that the picturesque Kerry venue will have played host to a third international women's event on three different courses.

Back in 1970, Mahony's Point was the venue for the Home Internationals; 1996 saw the Curtis Cup being staged on the Killeen stretch and now the professionals are to challenge Lacabane, the most recent development, designed by Donald Steel.

For this event, the layout measures 6,101 yards for a par of 72 and in practice, competitors have remarked on the quality and difficulty of the greens. Their brisk, natural pace is accentuated by some testing undulations. Indeed it is felt that the destination of the €24,750 top prize will hinge largely on short-game expertise.

But Solheim Cup representative Trish Johnson was preoccupied by another matter this week - as in the destination of the English Premiership title. After arriving here on Tuesday for a practice round, she headed back to England the following day so as to be at Old Trafford to see her favourite club, Arsenal, wrap up the double.

"Having had to by-pass the Cup final because of a tournament in Tenerife, I was determined not to miss Wednesday's match," she said. And how good was it? "Quite close to the thrill of winning the Solheim Cup in 2000," she replied, having returned to Killarney yesterday morning. As it happened, Johnson missed the cut in Tenerife where she returned to action after an absence of eight months because of a shoulder injury.

Carriedo, who captured this title at Faithlegg last year with rounds of 68, 66, 66 for a 16-under-par aggregate of 200, has maintained that form. Indeed the 30-year-old Spaniard has come here as the form player, having won the 72-hole Tenerife Open.

This strengthened her second-place position behind Annika Sorenstam in the Evian Order of Merit and she is leader of the Solheim Cup standings, ahead of the gifted Swede. But an indication of the irresistible attraction presented by America's LPGA Tour is that Corriedo is the only former Irish Open champion in action.

Ireland have 11 challengers in action, including six professionals. Suzie O'Brien, Hazel Kavanagh, Aideen Rogers, Yvonne Cassidy, Lynn McCool and Louise D'Arcy, are joined by amateurs Maura Morrin, Trish Mangan, Claire Coughlan, Eileen Rose Power and Elaine Dowdall.