To all intents and purposes, these are early days yet - precisely 12 months too soon - to be pencilling in any names for the Walker Cup defence in South Carolina next year . . . but that's exactly what is on Irish champion Graeme McDowell's mind as he heads into the Palmer Cup, the collegiate equivalent, at Hoylake today and tomorrow.

McDowell, the only Irish player on the eight-man team, even with the absence of English whizz-kids Luke Donald and Paul Casey from the side, can already consider himself unfortunate not to have made the Britain and Ireland team for the Eisenhower Trophy (world amateur team championship) in Berlin from August 31st to September 4th.

But he intends using the fourth staging of the Palmer Cup to put down an early marker for next year's Walker Cup. "It's one event that I definitely want to make," he said. Indeed, Keith Nolan and Richie Coughlan used a similar collegiate route prior to their Walker Cup call-ups.

Given his form since returning from the University of Alabama in June, during which time he has won six championships and also finished joint-second in the European strokeplay last week, McDowell, on current form, would have been a strong contender for the four-man Britain and Ireland team that defends the Eisenhower in Berlin.

But that team was picked too soon for McDowell's fireworks to count (it was actually announced on July 6th), which is ironic considering that the United States team won't actually be finalised until after their national championship concludes at Baltusrol on August 27th, just four days before the world tests commence.

Incidentally, that Britain and Ireland team will be the last to compete as one unit from the four "home" countries in the Eisenhower Trophy as, in future competitions, each will compete separately. This move will be formulated at a meeting in Berlin held simultaneously to the championships.

McDowell's goal may be a Walker Cup call-up next year, but the 21-year-old Rathmore clubman's focus for the next couple of days will be on the Palmer Cup, an event which the US has dominated since it was instigated by Arnold Palmer. This is its fourth staging. McDowell is joined on the Britain and Ireland team by Mark Booker, Jamie Elson, Simon Robinson, Max Harris, Joel Hendrie, Philip Rowe and Cyron Sullivan. Of the eight, six of them are actually attending American colleges.

The American side is comprised of a number of players destined for professional careers and features Jonathan Byrd, John Engler, Lucas Glover, Nick Cassini, Jeff Klauk, Andy Miller and Charles Howell.

Meanwhile, the highly-rated Banbridge teenager Connor Doran, who played on the Irish boys' team in last week's Home Internationals at Portmarnock, has decided to join McDowell on scholarship to the University of Alabama.

McDowell is an obvious absentee from the Ulster team that competes in the men's interprovincial matches which get under way at Royal Dublin Golf Club tomorrow, finishing on Friday. However, he is already assured of a place on the Irish team for next month's Home Internationals at Carnoustie. The Irish selectors aim to finalise that team at the conclusion of the interprovincials.