Six previous National Pitch and Putt Matchplay champions are in a field of 64 that will contest the 2000 event at Seapoint, Co Louth, this weekend. In a very competitive top quarter the holder and number one seed Sean Harkins (St Brigid's) meets Cement's Ian Donnelly, the Strokeplay runner-up of three years ago in the first round. Other contenders for the title in the top half are Tom Hogan (Royal Meath), Paul O'Brien (Lakeside) and international colleagues Paul O'Hagan and Sean Monigue. Another interesting clash is Brendan O'Shea, the successful European championship captain against the 1995 National Juvenile Strokeplay winner, Damien Rafferty (Seapoint).

In the women's event Bernadette Coffey (St Brigid's) who is seeded to meet clubmate Marian Byrne in the final. However, seven times champion Geraldine Ward, who needs just one more title to equal the all-time record of Cork legend Clare Keating, could have a big say in the final outcome of the title.