ERINVALE was redolent of the auld sod by name and nature yesterday, as heavy rains hampered the build-up to the 42nd World Cup of Golf which starts here tomorrow. But Ireland's challengers, Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington, were decidedly upbeat about their prospects of collecting a significant share of the $1.5 million purse.
The course, designed by Gary Player and opened only in May of last year, is set in an estate which dates back to 1868 when it was bought for £800 by Edward Strangman, an Irish immigrant. His first deed was to abandon its original Dutch name of Welgelegen in favour of the more appropriate Erinvale, after his native land.
As the name would suggest, most of the estate is set in a valley, but the course has sharply contrasting nines - the first being relatively flat with generous greens while the back nine, with markedly smaller greens, negotiating the side of a hill.
In fact, a steep walk takes the players from the ninth green to the tee at the dog-leg 10th and from where they are faced with a much more demanding test of accuracy off the tee. There is also the problem of adapting to a variety of hanging lies, particularly at the relatively short, par-four 11th, where the fairway tilts quite severely from left to right.
The course eventually rises to the 15th tee which is about 650 feet above sea level, offering stunning, panoramic views of False Bay in the distance. But it's downhill from there, starting with the 594-yard 16th which is reachable in two, but only with an extremely precise second shot to a small, angular green defended by a solitary bunker to the right.
Because of the weather, Clarke and Harrington played only the front nine yesterday morning but they start on the back nine at 12.0 today in the pre-tournament pro-am. Despite Harrington's splendid year on tour, Clarke is very much the senior partner, having competed twice before in this event - in Puerto Rico with Paul McGinley in 1994 and in China with Philip Walton last year.
As it happens, Harrington, who was beaten by Clarke in the semifinals of the South of Ireland Championship in July 1990 and in the final of the Irish Close at Baltray a month later, is only too happy to bow to such seniority. "I was totally in awe of Darren at that stage," he said, recalling their amateur clashes. "He was a fantastic player, totally unbeatable in my view.
Given his own success this year, Harrington has obviously modified his thinking somewhat but it is clear that he retains enormous respect for his playing partner. Meanwhile, he is thrilled at the idea of returning to team golf, having made his Alfred Dunhill Cup debut at St Andrews last month.
"I feel the need for an adrenalin boost at the end of a hard season and the thoughts of playing for Ireland should do the trick," he said. "For nine years as an amateur, my main objective was to play representative golf and the attraction has not diminished since I turned professional."
After returning from the Hassan Trophy in Morocco on November 11th, he spent much of last week with his coach Howard Bennett. "We worked on general things and I certainly feel the better for it," he said.
Clarke, in the meantime, was competing in the Australian PGA Championship in Sydney from where he arrived here on Monday night. "I like our chances - we're good enough to win this," he said. "I never really got to know Padraig as an amateur but I have certainly been impressed with his performances this season."
The Ulsterman takes the view that there can be no pre-determined strategy in an event of this nature, despite the fact that each pairing plays together as a team. "Other than giving each other a lift by playing well, I don't really see that there's much you can do," he said.
Clarke, who was here in Cape Town last year for the wedding of his manager, Andrew Chandler, concluded: "We should do well but there are some very strong partnerships, particularly the Americans (Tom Lehman and Steve Jones) and the South Africans (Ernie Els and Wayne Westner)."
Arguably the most interesting pairing from the home countries is that of Jim Payne and Peter Mitchell representing England. Both are in action in this event for the first time, Mitchell having come into the side last week as a replacement for Barry Lane, a late withdrawal.
They come from sharply contrasting golfing backgrounds. Payne, winner of the Italian Open earlier this year, has the impressive pedigree of Walker Cup combat at Portmarnock in 1991. Mitchell, on the other hand, was a decidedly modest 13-handicapper when joining paid ranks as a 16-year-old in 1974.
