Amateur Scene: In what must be viewed as another tribute to the management qualities of Irish women golfers, Ada O'Sullivan - who represented Ireland from 1982 to 1997 - has been selected as the captain of the Britain and Ireland team which will compete for the Espirito Santo Trophy (the world amateur team championship) at the Saujano club, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 16th-19th, reports Philip Reid.
O'Sullivan, a member of the Monkstown club in Cork, where she still plays off a scratch handicap, replaces Alison Davidson, who was originally named as captain but who has had to resign because of the impending birth of her first child.
O'Sullivan follows in the footsteps of another Irishwoman, Mary McKenna, who captained the B&I team to the bronze medal in the last world championships in Berlin in 2000, when Alison Coffey and Suzanne O'Brien were playing members of the team.
Before a back injury forced her retirement from top-level golf, O'Sullivan was the Irish Strokeplay champion in 1987 and won the European Masters Strokeplay Championship at Sotogrande in 1994. She captained the Irish Junior teams in Europe in 1998 and 2000 and at the Home Internationals from 1998 to 1999.
She said her elevation to one of the top captaincy positions in women's golf came as a complete surprise.
"The letter inviting me to take up the captaincy came out of the blue," she said. "I was in a state of shock, but naturally I'm delighted to be able to continue my involvement with international golf. I am genuinely honoured."
US TOUR: Dan Forsman putted superbly on his way to a first-round 65 and a two-shot lead over Rich Beem in the $4.5 million Compaq Classic on Thursday.
Forsman has a three-shot advantage over a group of eight players tied for third place, including Per-Ulrik Johansson, Dudley Hart, Stewart Cink and Stephen Ames.
Forsman (42), has not enjoyed much success on the PGA Tour since his last win at the 1992 Buick Open.
Most of his problems have been on the greens. "I haven't had a 24-putt round in quite some time," Forsman said of his first-round putting total.
Meanwhile, Birr's Richie Coughlan was struggling to make the cut after an opening 75 in the Virginia Beach Open on the Buy.com tour.
