MASTERS:It's getting hard to remember the last European Tour event in Ireland that wasn't badly affected by the weather.

When the Irish Open under Murphy's sponsorship took place for three consecutive years at Mount Juliet in the mid-1990s, the sun always seemed to shine.

Since then, however, things have taken a turn for the worse, with the nadir being last year's Nissan Irish Open at Carton House.

You wouldn't have put a cat out that week, and we've subsequently endured two European Opens, a Ryder Cup and another Irish Open all played in fairly miserable conditions.

You might think that the weather would have little effect on Golf Masters managers, but the 1,614 employers of our most popular player, Graeme McDowell, might well disagree.

When the Ulsterman birdied the 10th, 11th and 12th holes of his final round at The K Club last Sunday, and was briefly tied for second at the European Open, all of his bosses must have been licking their lips at the thought of all the bonus money he was going to rake in.

Then came two lightning delays and McDowell lost all rhythm and momentum. He fell away into a tie for 18th, dropping past several who were already in the comfort of the clubhouse or even on their way to the airport, and picked up just €19,000.

McDowell's popularity is unlikely to wane in the short term, given he is in the Scottish and British Opens, where he, his managers and the live spectators will be hoping for a fairer deal from the weather gods.