Padraig Harrington is among a number of competitors becoming increasingly anxious about the situation in the Middle East. Their concern is the possibility that next week's Desert Classic in Dubai will go the way of the 1991 event and be cancelled, if war breaks out.

"I plan to go to Dubai next Friday but I will wait until Sunday, if necessary," said Harrington yesterday. Meanwhile, the European Tour are holding to their commitment both to Dubai and the inaugural Qatar Masters a week later. "We will fulfil these fixtures," an official said yesterday.

This being a blank week on the European Tour, two other Irish players, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley, are further afield, preparing for the Malaysian Open which starts on Thursday. Both have air tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai but, like Harrington, they will be watching developments.

"If it's not possible to play in Dubai or Qatar, I will be happy to sit it out and to practise somewhere in the sun," added the Dubliner.

Indeed Harrington's US appearances this year look like being limited to the US Open and the USPGA Championship. And to qualify for the latter, he will have to move up a place to 75th in the World Rankings by mid-summer. "I will certainly look for invitations to tie in with the majors but the chances are slim," he said.

He concluded: "I have yet to achieve a sufficiently high profile in the game." Judging from a spectacular surge to third place in his last tournament in Perth, however, one suspects he won't have long to wait.

Next Saturday is the closing date for this year's JB Carr Diamond Scotch Foursomes Matchplay Trophy in which the semi-finals and final will be played at Woodenbridge GC. Further details from (0402) 35202 - telephone or fax.