A charity pro-am in rural
Ireland is threatening to undermine the credibility of one of the most prestigious
events on the European Tour. World No 1 Tiger Woods and many other leading players
have committed themselves to the J.P.McManus Invitational Pro-Am at Limerick
Golf Club on July 10 and 11.
No appearance money is being
paid to the 44 star performers even though the three amateurs accompanying each
professional will have to stump up Ir£40,000 between them to take part in the
36-hole event. However, owing to golf's crowded schedule at that time of year,
it seems inevitable that the field for the £1.1m Standard Life Loch Lomond tournament
from July 12-15 will be weakened by the timing of the monster in Munster.
The entry list for Loch
Lomond - seen by the golfing public and BBC Television as the curtain-raiser
for the Open at St Andrews the following week - includes the title holder Colin
Montgomerie, Ernie Els and New Zealand's Michael Campbell.
A spokesman for Limerick
Golf Club said, though, that all three would be playing in the pro- am, raising
the possibility that they would either forego a practice round at Loch Lomond
- unheard of among modern tournament professionals - or withdraw.
A European Tour official
confirmed the trio, currently second, third and fourth on the order of merit,
were all entered for Loch Lomond, but added ominously:
"I'm afraid we have no control
over players' schedules." Standard Life, in their third year of sponsorship,
have been told that McManus, a multi- millionaire businessman, has chartered
a plane to fly players at 3pm on July 11 from Shannon to Glasgow after their
pro-am rounds.
However, a company spokeswoman,
Fiona McMorian, said: "It's unlikely they will get to Loch Lomond before 5pm
at the absolute earliest and by then the course will probably be closed for last-minute
preparations. It's fair to say that we're concerned this pro-am will have an
adverse effect on our tournament."
All of which is a far cry
from the optimism expressed a few weeks ago by the championship committee chairman,
Graham Simmers, after announcing that the American left-hander Phil Mickelson
would play at Loch Lomond.
"The stature of the tournament
continues to grow and we look forward to further announcements about exciting
new additions to our outstanding field," he said.
Alas, it now seems that
Mickelson, a friend of Loch Lomond's American owner Lyle Anderson, will be part
of one of the season's weaker European fields. In addition to Woods, the American
contingent in Limerick also includes David Duval, the world No 2, Mark O'Meara
and Tom Lehman, winner of the Loch Lomond title in 1997. 'Major' winners Mark
Brooks and Lee Janzen and the Australians Robert Allenby and Stuart Appleby are
also committed along with Ireland's two top players - Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington.
Ticket sales for the pro-am
are limited to 8,000 spectators each day and the Limerick spokesman said the
profits would go to unspecified "local and Irish charities".
A simple calculation suggests
that the pro-am's revenue could top Ir£2.5m, though much of it will no doubt
be spent on flying players in from around the world - Woods, for instance, will
travel overnight on July 9 from Chicago where he is due to defend his Western
Open title. The key to why Woods, Duval and O'Meara are so keen to inconvenience
themselves may lie in their association with the billionaire British financier
Joe Lewis at the exclusive Isleworth community in Florida where they have homes.
Lewis, in turn, has close
links with McManus and also provided the three Americans and the late Payne Stewart
with accommodation at the luxurious Old Course Hotel in St Andrews and helicopter
transport to the course during last year's Open at Carnoustie. Perhaps something
similar is on offer again this summer.
