Irish Seniors Open:Ireland has been waiting nine years for a home winner of the AIB Irish Seniors Open, but Wicklow's Eamonn Darcy can't see the famine ending on a muscular PGA National Ireland course measuring almost 7,000 yards.
With Des Smyth plying his trade on the Champions Tour in the US and Darcy struggling with a rotator cuff injury, Irish hopes are pinned on Cork's Denis O'Sullivan who can push his career earnings over the €1 million mark if he pockets the winner's cheque for €67,500 at the stunning Palmerstown House lay-out at Naas.
The €450,000 event has attracted last season's top 30 money winners, and while Ireland will have nine runners on the former stud farm near Naas in Co Kildare, defending champion Sam Torrance of Scotland is the short-priced favourite ahead of Carl Mason, Jose Rivero and Gordon Brand to add a second Irish Seniors crown to his brace of Irish Open victories.
"Sam will love it here," said Darcy, who has received anti- inflammatory jabs in his right shoulder and strapped on a portable electrotherapy device to ease the pain. "This is a long track and I like it. But it's an American- style course built in Ireland.
"To be honest, there are not too many Irish guys out there with a chance. I would like to be a bit stronger coming in and hopefully I can hole a few putts, but I am trying to project the injury a bit and it is a long course."
No Irishman has won the title since Joe McDermott triumphed at Woodbrook in 1998.
Darcy has played just one event this year, and Ireland's best hope looks to be 59-year-old O'Sullivan, who has taken the radical step of changing his grip and retrieving a trusty old putter from the garage in an attempt to add to his haul of six European Seniors Tour victories.
O'Sullivan believes a long overdue change of grip and the magic touch of an old putter can bring him his first victory since the 2005 DMG Barbados Open.
"I've had a weak grip ever since I badly damage two fingers on my right hand during the 70s," he explained. "Noel Ratcliffe told me I should change it and my grip is a lot stronger now. I can't believe how much better it feels.Obviously I would love to win this event, as it is my home title, but we'll have to wait and see."
First round tee-times
(* denotes amateur)
08:00 - J Benda (US), DW Morris* (Ire); 08:10 - P O'Hagan (Ire), R Carrasco (US), L MacNamara* (Ire); 08:20 - B Malley (US), D Creamer (Eng), A Tapie (US); 08:30 - I Mosey (Eng), B Heuchan (Can), G Levenson (Rsa); 08:40 - J Mashego (SA), B Larratt (Eng), D Merriman (Aus); 08:50 - B Lincoln (Rsa), T Gale (Aus), P Oakley (US); 09:00 - GJ Brand (Eng), S Owen (NZ), L Higgins (Ire); 09:15 - M Bembridge (Eng), M Gray (Sco), T Charnley (Eng); 09:25 - K Spurgeon (Eng), P Leonard (N Ire), M Ferguson (Aus); 09:35 - A Sowa (Arg), R Drummond (Sco), J Rhodes (Eng); 09:45 - D Johnson (US), T Allen (Eng), M Piñero (Spa); 09:55 - D Durnian (Eng), T Horton (Eng), B Shearer (Aus); 10:05 - A Garrido (Spa), J Heggarty (N Ire), DJ Russell (Eng); 10:15 - J Quiros (Spa), J Chillas (Sco), J Hawkes (Rsa); 10:30 - S Torrance (Sco), J Rivero (Spa), D O'Sullivan (Ire); 10:40 - A Fernandez (Chi), D Good (Aus), T Rastall (Eng); 10:50 - E Darcy (Ire), C Rocca (Ita), S Ginn (Aus); 11:00 - H Carbonetti (Arg), G Ralph (Eng), G Encina (Chi); 11:10 - C Mason (Eng), B Longmuir (Sco), G Cali (Ita); 11:20 - J Bland (Rsa), M Clayton (Aus), N Job (Eng); 11:35 - P Teravainen (US), B Cameron (Eng), B Smit (Rsa); 11:45 - L Carbonetti (Arg), N Ratcliffe (Aus), M Miller (Sco); 11:55 - T Johnstone (Zim), G Watine (Fra), M Poxon (Eng); 12:05 - V Garcia (Spa), S Martin (Sco), J Bruner (US); 12:15 - P Dugeny (Fr), E Polland (N Ire), D Cambridge (Jam); 12:25 - A Morrow* (Ire), J Lapsley (NZ), E Rodriguez (Spa).
