BETWEEN sponsorship deals, competitive arrangements and marriage plans, these are exciting times for Ireland's young tournament professionals. For Walker Cup representative Padraig Harrington, there will be an old hand by his side when he embarks on the PGA European Tour. Earlier this week, the Stackstown player agreed a deal to have veteran John O'Reilly as his caddie for the season.
Harrington and fellow qualifier Francis Howley will be returning to the scene of their Tour School success when they set off tomorrow for Apollo Week, a series of seminars, at San Roque on Spain's Costa del Sol.
Darren Clarke, who is to marry Heather Tosh at the end of March, is also bound for Spain. He sets off today for Valderrama and a week's specialist coaching by former Spanish Ryder Cup player, Manuel Pinero. After that, Clarke will begin his competitive year in the Malaysian Open before going on to Singapore for the official start of the tour, the Johnnie Walker Classic on January 25th to 28th.
Colleague Paul McGinley has got engaged to Alison Shapcott, the former English international whom he met while on scholarship at San Diego University in the US. He will be joining Clarke in Singapore.
Meanwhile, David Higgins, who was among the five Irish qualifiers from the Tour School on November 28th, heads for South Africa next week where he will compete in three local events prior to the South African PGA Championship. Strange as it may seem, this is an official European Tour event, at Houghton GC, Johannesburg, on February 15th to 18th.
Having had a successful partnership with his brother Tadhg at amateur level, Harrington's decision to team up with O'Reilly is particularly interesting. "Essentially, I was looking for experience; I wanted somebody that I wouldn't have to be looking after," said the reigning Irish Close champion yesterday. "John fills the bill ideally. I know him and, quite frankly, I'm delighted to get him."
O'Reilly, a grey-haired Dubliner with a grizzled look, caddied for Peter Townsend from 1972 until 1982 and for Des Smyth from 1983 until March 1994, when he broke a wrist during the Mediterranean Open in Spain. "I'm thrilled to be getting this chance of returning to the tour with Padraig," he said yesterday. "I think we'll make a great team."
His resourcefulness made him something of a legend on the tour. Particularly memorable was a trip to Berlin where he was to meet up with Townsend for a tournament on a course inside the American base there. As it happened, O'Reilly was penniless when he met fellow caddies from Britain on arrival in Liverpool after the first leg of his journey.
"Through various means, including being zipped up in a golf-bag cover, I got from Liverpool to Southampton, then by sea to the Hook of Holland and from there by train through East Germany, all the way to Berlin. And all without paying. It was quite a journey," says O'Reilly.
Harrington, who is attached to Mark McCormack's International Management Group, has decided to remain with GUI national coach Howard Bennett, his mentor throughout a sparkling amateur career. He hopes to sign sponsorship deals in the near future and expects to get into about 24 tournaments this year. "I have entered everything, but I don't expect to get into the first two tournaments in Singapore and Perth," he said.
At 24, he is confident about the timing of his move into professional ranks. "I was very impressed with the smoothness of Paul McGinley's transition from the amateur to the professional game," he said. "That stuck in my mind - and the fact that he was 24 at the time. Quite frankly, I don't know what to expect on tour. I don't think anybody really knows how any particular career will turn out. My initial objective is simply to become a fully exempt player by making the top 11 5 at the end of the season."
Howley has become the latest Irish recruit to Andrew Chandler's company, International Sports Management, which he will formally join today. It means teaming up with Clarke, McGinley, Raymond Burns, David Higgins and Eoghan O'Connell. "I was hugely impressed with the way he handled the pressure of the Qualifying School," said Chandler yesterday.
A group of Milltown members have decided to sponsor Howley, who will represent the club as a playing professional. Having worked there as an assistant, the attachment will allow him attain his objective of becoming a fully qualified club professional with the PGA by the end of this year. In the meantime, his place in John Harnett's shop will be filled from Monday next by John Langan, son of former Mayo footballer Joe Langan.
Clarke, who turned professional after beating Harrington in the final of the Irish Close Championship in 1990, is attempting to acquire the short-game brilliance of his former amateur rival. "Looking back on last season, I realised my short-game was not consistent enough to allow me compete at the highest level," he said yesterday.
"Pinero offered to help and I'm hoping he may have the answers. The key is to be able to turn a 73 on a bad day into a 70. I'm fully prepared to put in the necessary work, but I want to be sure that I'm heading in the right direction."
The Ulsterman's only appearance in an American "major" was in the US Open at Oakmont in 1994 when he failed to make the cut. But 14th place in the 1995 European Order of Merit has earned him a return appearance in the US Open at Oakland Hills in June. "My target is to try and get a few more American invites if possible," he said.
The five Irish qualifiers from the Tour School were: Howley (11th), Harrington (16th), John McHenry (17th), Higgins (31st) and Jimmy Heggarty (35th).
