PHILIP WALTON headed for the US yesterday unsure whether he would be competing in one or two tournaments there. Either way, he will be making a return challenge in the USPGA Championship which starts at Valhalla GC, Louisville, on Thursday.

Walton made his debut in the last of the season's majors at Riviera 12 months ago, when he had admirably consistent rounds of 71, 70, 71, 68 for an aggregate of 280 and a share of 39th place behind the winner, Steve Elkington. But the west coast of the US seemed a long way to travel simply for one event.

With that in mind, the Malahide man arranged for a two tournament challenge on this occasion, taking in the Sprint International at Castle Pines, Denver, next week. But his appearance there is now in doubt because of a mix up over his entry.

Because of his contribution to Europe's Ryder Cup triumph last September, he received an invitation to Castle Pines. But there have been problems with his entry. It was sent directly to the sponsors, but it seems that the US tour should also have been notified," said Walton, before leaving Dublin. "I'm hoping things will be ironed while I'm at Valhalla. But at the moment, I don't know whether I'll be in the States for one or two weeks."

After a rather lean first half of the season, Walton is beginning to find some useful form, highlighted by a share of seventh place for prize money of £16,198 in the Scandinavian Masters last weekend.

It also marked a minor milestone in the splendid progress of Padraig Harrington, who has now passed £200,000 in prize money for the season. Having secured a place in Ireland's two man team for the World Cup in Cape Town on November 21st-24th, he is also virtually certain to be in the three man Dunhill Cup line up which will be finalised after the Czech Open on August 18th.

Harrington is currently taking a week's holiday in Spain, so missing the Hohe Brucke Open which starts in Austria on Thursday. But with his sights very much on a Dunhill Cup place at St Andrews on October 10th-13th, he will resume European action in the Czech event at Marianske Lazne.

Former Austrian Open champion Ronan Rafferty heads the Irish challenge at the Waldviertel GC. He will be joined by Paul McGinley, Raymond Burns, David Higgins and Francis Howley.

Burns still retains vivid memories of events at Interlachen three years ago when, representing Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup, he was beaten in the top singles match by Justin Leonard of the US. Now, the former US Amateur champion has made a breakthrough as a tournament professional.

In only his third season on tour, Leonard captured top prize of $216,000 in the Buick Open at Warwick Hills last Sunday. It brought his official earnings to $627,142 for the season, securing 18th position in the current money list.

Meanwhile, Peter Dobereiner, who died last Friday, will be missed by the many friends he made in golf throughout this country. Indeed he displayed a great affection for Irish golf though his writings in the Observer and the Guardian and also in the American magazine Golf Digest. Indicative of this was his delight in offering his British readers trips to Irish venues, notably Co Sligo, as prizes for competitions associated with his column in the Observer. And he was invariably generous in praise of the skills of our leading players, Christy O'Connor Snr, Harry Bradshaw and Fred Daly.

My favourite Dobereiner piece appeared in the Observer on August 17th, 1980. It concerned a fascinating battle between protagonists referred to by the writer as simply Himself and Your Man. They were, of course, O'Connor and the then reigning US Masters champion, Seve Ballesteros.

"The normal routine at the Carrolls Irish Open is for the fans to stroll outside the fairway ropes," Dobereiner wrote, "watching a favourite player until the leaderboard gives news of exciting deeds elsewhere. Then like a herd of wildebeeste catching the scent of a lion, they wheel and stampede across the course, pushing and jostling, invariably with men in holy orders producing unholy disorder as they elbow their way to the front with never so much as a Nunc Dimittis.

"It was therefore the happiest of coincidences which paired two players in joint 47th place, together for the third round, for there could be no question of a conflict of loyalties in this instance. The entire population of Dublin, plus a few thousand out of towners, trooped across Portmarnock to watch Your Man playing Himself. Dublin has seen nothing like it since the day the Pope landed in Phoenix Park, and no less piety either."

A warm, funloving man, Dobereiner would be ranked among the finest exponents of his craft. He will be sorely missed.