A Major win is just around the corner for one of Ireland's trio of golfing superstars ­ just as long as they don't lose the hunger.

That's the view of veteran Eamonn Darcy as he prepares for his final season before joining the Seniors when he turns 50 in August.

The Darce has seen it all in a 31-year career that includes four Ryder Cup appearances and 15 tournament wins around the globe.

After losing his edge in recent years "battling against 23 year olds every week", Darcy is chomping at the bit again as he looks forward to life in the senior ranks.

This will also be a memorable year for Irish golf with four European Tour events ­ including the American Express championship - taking place on our shores.

And Darcy feels that it could be an historic one too as Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley go chasing the Major championships.

He said: "It's going to be a huge year and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if we had a Major winner.

"The three boys have everything it takes and they're all going in the right direction. They now want to win all the time and that's important. You have to be hungry for success and try to improve all the time.

"The three of them have become serious operators and I think they are every bit as good as any of them out there winning majors at the moment.

"It's just a question of having the stomach for it and getting the right breaks. And I've no doubt that they have the talent."

Darcy's Major chance came at Royal Birkdale in the 1991 British Open, where he eventually finished tied for fifth behind Ian Baker-Finch.

"I had my chance and I gave it my best shot. But Baker - Finch was incredible on the last day. I was out in 31 but he shot 29 and I was still two behind playing the back nine.

"In the end I had a seven at the 15th which was a double but felt like a quadruple. It just knocked the stuffing out of me."

It also signalled the beginning of the end for Darcy as a force on the tour as his Order of Merit position fell alarmingly.

Never out of the top 50 in Europe between 1974 and 1991, Darcy fell to 59th in 1992 before losing his card at the end of 2000.

And the big man now admits that his loss of appetite for the game may have cost him in recent years.

"I didn't totally lose the hunger but perhaps in the last couple of years my goals haven't been that good, but I'm hoping to get the appetite back.

"Once you get to Seniors age you really start to get excited about it and I'm hoping to get invites into two or three tournaments in America this year and then go to the tour school.

"In the future I'd like to play on the US Seniors Tour although Christy Junior told me it' still very difficult and that there lots of good players around.

"But it's better than playing with 23 year olds all the time that are hungry for success, the way we were when we started off.

"My problem in recent years has been getting the ball in the hole so I've decided to go to a long putter. My putting has been holding me back but the long putter might help me. Ian Woosnam told me to go with it and it's given me more confidence.

"It's not the full length long putter, it's a cut down version I had done of a Ping model, something I concocted myself, that comes up just above the belly."

"I don't know how it will go because it's not tried and tested but we'll see soon. Just look what it did for Langer!"

Darcy will play in around 12 events on the European Tour this season before he turns 50 on 7 August and takes a step into the unknown.

"I have an invitation to Dubai as a past champion so that will be my first tournament then I'll try to get into Qatar. After that I'll have to wait and see but the Spanish Open would also be another one I'd like to play in because I've won that too."

But the Wicklow legend is also thinking about the Ryder Cup at the K Club in 2006 and the race to become the first Irishman to captain the European side.

"My hat's in the ring too and has been for some time. I let my views know to the committee about three years ago and I'd certainly be over the moon if I got the job.

"It would be a great honour to be asked, and after four Ryder Cups and having holed the putt that helped us win at Muirfield Village in '87 I think I have a chance. I'm also still in touch with the scene because I'm playing the tour but a lot can happen between now and 2006."

In the meantime Darcy is looking forward to being reunited with former Ryder Cup team mate Seve Ballesteros at Druids Glen in April.

"Seve has always said nice things about me. He sent me a lovely letter recently asking me to play in the Pro-Am at Druids Glen before the Seve Trophy and I said I'd be delighted to."

Maybe some of the Druids' magic will rub off on Darcy's new-fangled putter as he heads off on tour again with the enthusiasm of a 19 year old.

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Shark visit

Greg Norman is set to return to Irish shores in July.

The multi-millionaire Australian will open his latest design ­ the exclusive new links course at Doonbeg on Clare's Atlantic coast.

But Doonbeg members are hoping that the Great White Shark's commitments will allow him to cut the ribbon on the opening day of the Palmer Cup, on 8 July.

The Aussie superstar is determined to open the course in person - but only when he has time.

Norman's 228 ft, $60 million expedition yacht, the 'Aussie Rules' is also set to be commissioned in early July.

The Palmer Cup is an annual match-play competition between top college golfers from the United States and the best university talent from Great Britain and Ireland.

Ulsterman and Walker Cup player Graeme McDowell has taken part in the last two editions and is expected to return this year.

The Palmer Cup returns to Ireland in 2004, when Ballybunion's Old Course plays host to the event.

Smurfit Irish PGA

The PGA Irish Region is battling to bring the Big Three to the Smurfit Irish Professional Championship.

But negotiations are proving difficult.

The championship traditionally clashes with the World Matchplay at Wentworth in October, where Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke are likely to take part.

Sponsors Smurfit and the PGA are working hard to attract all Ireland's tour players, including Paul McGinley, Philip Walton, Des Smyth, Eamonn Darcy and David Higgins.

Although the week following the Seve Trophy at Druids Glen, from April 25-28, looks a likely date it clashes with the Spanish Open.

An announcement is expected next week.

© Brian Keogh 2002

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