Four years ago Philip Walton earned an honoured place among Ireland's Ryder Cup elite when he held his nerve to secure Europe's surprise victory at Oak Hill. His last green victory over Jay Haas in the 11th match of a momentous afternoon in upstate New York was his finest hour as a professional.

But this week, at the age of 37, and at the end of 17 seasons in which he has amassed career earnings in excess of £1.5 million, Walton is facing an even greater test of his temperament and skill; one that will determine whether he still has a career in tournament golf.

Along with other stalwarts of his generation like England's Roger Chapman, Paul Way and Andrew Sherborne, Welshman Mark Mouland, and South Africans Wayne Westner and Clinton Whitelaw, Walton is among the 168 entrants to the 1999 Qualifying School at San Roque and Sotogrande in southern Spain.

He has paid £880 to be here because he finished 160th on the circuit this year after winning only £20,500 in 26 outings and lost his Tour card.

It is Walton's first visit, because he was among the fortunate few who joined the Tour in 1983 as an affiliate member, but that will not make his task any easier, as the School director Andy McFee yesterday made clear.

"This is the greatest pressure any player faces, much worse than the Ryder Cup," he said. "The strain and tension people feel is etched in their faces. Everyone is so nervous, particularly in the first round. Sometimes they go so slowly they are almost paralysed by fear."

Colin Montgomerie echoed that view during the recent World Championship at nearby Valderrama when he recalled how he struggled to 28th place on his School trip in 1987. "It was worse than any Ryder Cup or major championship crisis I have faced, " said the European number one.

Judging by his reaction yesterday when approached by the handful of golf writers covering the event, Walton is close to succumbing before he has struck a shot in earnest. "Don't hassle me. Give me till Monday," he responded after his final practice round with fellow Irish contestants David Higgins, Gary Murphy and Peter Lawrie.

He has good reason to be concerned. In Belgium last month he lost the services of long-time bagman Brian McLauchlan who fractured his right shin in getting off a bus.

His immediate task when he sets out at San Roque this morning in company with South African Trevor Immelman, and Welshman Mark Pilkington, is to be among the leading 75 and ties after the fourth round on Saturday who go forward to the final 36 holes. But only if he finishes among the top 35 and ties on Monday evening will he regain his card.

Higgins (26), who like Murphy (27) and Lawrie (25) is a former Irish amateur champion, has been operating on the junior Challenge circuit this year where he finished 38th.

This time he is determined to keep the card he earned by finishing 24th in 1997 and has acquired a very experienced hand on the tiller in Malcolm Mason, who has been caddying for Sam Torrance for the last 12 years.

It could become a permanent alliance, for Mason revealed that Torrance will next year play only the 11 events required to retain Tour membership.

"I cannot live on just 11 weeks' work so I am looking for a new boss, a young gun like David," he said.

Dubliner Lawrie, and Murphy from Kilkenny, both hope their Asian Tour experience will be invaluable, but are under no illusions. "This is one of the strongest fields we have had, and that is indicative of how hard it is to win and keep a card," added tournament director McFee.

Ross Drummond would concur. He won the School last year but is back again, as is teenager Justin Rose, the 1998 Open enigma who found it all too much for him in 1998. For everyone the task will be to keep a clean sheet. As always it will be more a case of the bogeys they don't make, than the birdies they do.

The Former Australian PGA champion Brett Ogle will chip left-handed when he resumes his professional career at the Adelaide Open tomorrow. The right-handed Ogle says putting and chipping problems had combined with his marriage break-up to send him into a self-imposed absence from the game in August, 1997.

Ogle (35) said the combination of a broomstick putter and left-handed short game had given him the confidence he could be competitive again.