GOLF DIGEST/Challenge Tour: The European Challenge Tour takes Irishmen Raymond Burns, David Higgins, Michael Hoey, Colm Moriarty and Tim Rice to a land of lost, great civilisations this weekend as they head for Los Inkas Country Club in Peru for the TIM Peru Open.
After their outstanding performances at the first two events of the 2005 Challenge Tour season, Higgins, from Waterville, and Belfast's Hoey are in excellent position on the early season rankings.
Hoey's €10,535 prize for taking third place at last weekend's Panasonic Panama Open moved him to sixth on the rankings, while Higgins, who took third spot at the season-opening 47th Abierto Mexicano de Golf, is two places above Hoey in fourth position with earnings of €16,080.
Both will be hoping to build on those solid foundations amidst the Inca ruins and the legacy of the Spanish Conquistadores. Burns, Moriarty and Rice will not want to lose any more ground on their fellow countrymen.
WORLD CHALLENGE: Padraig Harrington will join tournament host Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and defending champion Davis Love at the head of a field of 16 of the greatest players in the world in the sixth annual Target World Challenge, which begins today at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California (Sky Sports 2, 8-11 p.m.).
Of the 16 players, 11 competed in the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills: Harrington, Woods, Love, Colin Montgomerie, Chad Campbell, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Stewart Cink, Chris DiMarco, Jim Furyk, Jay Haas, Kenny Perry.
Others in the field include fan favourites John Daly and Fred Couples, along with 2004 British Open champion Todd Hamilton.
PGAs OF EUROPE: A noisy demonstration by 60 to 70 locals forced the abandonment of play for the day in the first round of the PGAs of Europe International Team Championship at Atalaya Golf & Country Club's Old Course, Costa del Sol, Spain, yesterday.
The protesters, deprived of their employment and allegedly due wages following the closure of the Don Miguel Hotel - a sister hotel of the Atalaya Park Hotel, where the PGAs of Europe Congress is being held this week - arrived on the perimeter of the course around 11.30 a.m. and began to beat drums and blow horns and whistles in an attempt to disrupt play.
Tournament director Steve Cox suspended play at 11.40 a.m., calling the field of 63 professionals from 21 countries back to the clubhouse so that there was no danger of a confrontation between the golfers and the demonstrators.
Spanish police were present, but kept a low profile. The protesters did throw some tee markers and flagsticks into bushes, but no damage was done to the greens, the most vulnerable part of the course that is on either side of a public road.
After a couple of hours it seemed as if the demonstrators had dispersed, but Cox's planned resumption of play at 1.50 p.m. had to be called off when the group reappeared.
None of the players, starting from both the first and the 10th tees, has completed the first 18 holes of what is a scheduled 72-hole tournament, supported for the first time by Glenmuir.
Lawrie Thornton, general secretary of the PGAs of Europe, explained: "We were made aware shortly before the commencement of the championship that this kind of disruption was possible. It is not our wish to become embroiled in any dispute that does not concern us. Nor would we allow any of our players to become involved in any way.
"Consequently our tournament staff and the players have been advised to treat any demonstrations as they would, say, the threat of lightning. This is to cease play immediately on the sounding of a klaxon and to return to the clubhouse in an orderly fashion."
