Ireland has made an official application to stage the Solheim Cup in 2008. The move by Bord Failte represents an ongoing commitment by the Government to the support of tournament golf, beyond the 2005 Ryder Cup.
Having been launched with an American victory at Lake Nona in 1990, the women's equivalent of the Ryder Cup had its first staging on this side of the Atlantic at Dalmahoy in 1992 when Europe achieved a shock 11 1/2 - to 6 1/2 win over the US. Since then it has been played at The Greenbrier (1994) and St Pierre (1996) and will be at Loch Lomond on October 6th to 8th.
The 2004 staging is fixed for Barseback GC, near Malmo, Sweden and bids are now being accepted for 2008. "This is simply an extension of our established policy of promoting tourism through important golf events," said Chris Kane of Bord Failte yesterday.
As a major sporting undertaking, the Solheim Cup would not rank with the Ryder Cup, which will be at The K Club in 2005. But the unexpected win at Dalmahoy gave it an enormous boost which would be enhanced by another successful European performance next month.
Meanwhile, the Women's World Cup, which had its inaugural staging at Adare Manor last weekend, could be back at the same venue in 2003. Players and officials were so delighted with the quality of Adare that there was talk of it staying there in 2001, but South Africa head a list of several countries anxious to act as future hosts.
Neither players nor officials seem to have any difficulty with the fact that another version of the World Cup, promoted by the International Management Group and with the blessing of the US LPGA Tour, will be staged at The Mines GC in Kuala Lumpur in November. "I'll be happy to play there if I'm invited," said Laura Davies who saw no problem with what appears to be a decidedly curious situation. "This one was in Ireland and the other is in Malaysia," she added, by way of justification.
Her reaction reflects the ongoing struggle of women's tournament golf, certainly on this side of the Atlantic. This would also explain why Bord Failte are viewed as splendid benefactors, through their support of the Irish Women's Open, then the World Cup and possibly the Solheim Cup further down the road.
Against that background, there were two major disappointments at Adare last weekend - the sparse attendance and the performance of the home team. Irish women, who are noted for their enthusiastic support of golf, were conspicuous by their absence on this occasion. Indeed their support of the Irish Women's Open over the years has also left a lot to be desired.
Some spectators to whom I spoke last weekend complained that the event had been poorly publicised. This was certainly true of pre-tournament information coming into this office, which was sketchy, to say the least.
Finally, there is the matter of the home team. Aideen Rogers had reason to feel pleased with a six-over-par performance which brought her a share of 25th place among the 52 competitors, but Lynn McCool was simply not good enough for this level of competition.
I understand that consideration was given to the idea of selecting one of two leading amateurs, Suzie O'Brien or Alison Coffey, as a partner for Rogers, but the idea had to be ditched because of a clash with the women's Home Internationals. Either way, in the interest of the country's international image in the game, it is to be hoped that a solution will be found before next year's event.
