K Club open a new course of debate for Ryder Cup

Though the Ryder Cup will be played at the K Club in 2006, the opening of a new course on the Michael Smurfit-owned estate has left a question mark over which layout will actually stage the match. The South Course on the other side of the Liffey has already found praise despite only officially opening on Tuesday.

When the Ryder Cup was awarded to the K Club it was always assumed that the match would be played on the original layout, now called the North course, which this week hosts the European Open for the ninth time. But the new South layout will stage the event from next year until 2006, while the North is readied for the Ryder Cup. Both were designed by the Arnold Palmer design team and the great man himself has let it be known that he thinks the South should be the one to stage the Ryder Cup.

With all the improvements made to the original course and with all the infrastructure in place for big tournaments, it is highly unlikely the shift will be made. But with the huge amounts of money spent on the new course, some £8m on the layout and a further £10m on a new clubhouse, it probably suits the marketing men to be able to suggest the South is up to hosting golf's biggest event. "It's a great compliment for people to say you have two courses on which you could play the Ryder Cup," confirmed Smurfit.

Even Richard Hills, the Ryder Cup director, was playing along with a potential North-South divide. "We are still working through all the options concerning the K Club estate," Hills said. "It's a new course which I only saw for the first time yesterday but who knows?" He added that the situation could be reviewed after next year's tournament on the South.

Paul McGinley, the man who holed the winning putt at The Belfry last September, played in the opening day pro-am on Tuesday. "It's superb," McGinley said. "It's great to have such a contrast to between the two courses. One is a lush, treelined course, while the new one has a running, links kind of feel to it. They've done a great job with it."

But McGinley, who is the K Club's touring professional, added: "I don't think they will change the course for the Ryder Cup. All the effort and work has gone into the North and I think they should stick with that."

Concerning the Ryder Cup, mobile phone company 02 Ireland have signed up as a sponsor for the European team for the 2004 match in the States and as an official sponsor for the 2006 match here. Presumably they will be texting spectators to warn them not to bring their mobiles to the Ryder Cup.

After two decades of waiting for a home winner in Ireland, this tournament was almost won back-to-back by Irishmen. Darren Clarke was victorious in 2001, but last year Padraig Harrington followed Michael Campbell into the lake at the 18th to miss out.

Campbell looked to have the event in his hands before giving Harrington a chance by finding the water to leave the Irishman a chance. "The one thing I didn't want to do was go right," Harrington explained. "Hitting it to 30 feet on the right and two-putting was no good to me. I wanted to go straight for it but pulled it left. At least I succeeded in not doing what I didn't want to do and go right." That's clear then.

While Justin Rose finished third last week in Paris to follow up his fifth place at the US Open, Harrington and Clarke are coming off a two-week break. They have been down to Royal St George's to scout the Open venue, while Clarke has also been spending time on his putting.

It is the part of the game that has frustrated him this year so he has gone back to work with Harold Swash, the so-called "Putting Doctor". Swash has been working with a biomechanics expert whose gadgets proved Clarke was moving too much over the ball. "I didn't realise so I'm trying to stay still after widening my stance and changing my grip," Clarke said.

Colin Montgomerie returns after a week of birthday celebrations. "This is my first tournament as a 40-year-old and I intend to win it, and that will be a good start to the 40s," he decreed.