Odd couple Stephen Browne and Adrian Morrow have at least one thing in common ­ a burning desire to push themselves to the limit.

But while veteran Morrow is a self-made man who is downsizing his business to dedicate more time to his game, fresh-faced Browne has given up almost everything to make his dreams come true.

At 48, Morrow is looking to stretch out his amateur career and set up a possible raid on the crock of gold they call the European Seniors Tour in 2003.

By contrast, Browne has to subsidise his golf by singing at weddings and funerals and occasionally dip into his life savings to survive. "I just felt I had to find out how far I could take my game so I decided to take two years off from my job with the Bank of Scotland and go for it," explained Browne. "So I practice all day and then sing with my father Edmund at weddings and funerals or do cabarets in the evenings to make money."

Twelve months after taking the plunge the 27 year old has reaped his reward with a call-up to the Ireland team for the European Team Championships in Sweden early next month. And ironically, his debut has come at the expense of Morrow.

"There was probably very little to choose between the two of us but Stephen played fantastic golf on the last day of the East and he got the nod," conceded Morrow. "He's made a huge commitment to improving his golf and I think we have a very strong side for the Europeans."

The final day of the East of Ireland championship earlier this month proved to be a kind of duel in the sun between the veteran and the young gunslinger. Six foot four and thin as a drainpipe, Morrow cuts a distinctive figure with his black moustache and long graceful swing.

But it was freckle-faced youngster Browne who proved to be the quickest on the draw. When the dust settled, ruddy-cheeked Browne had scorched up the leader board with rounds of 68 and 69, nine under par for the day, to clinch fourth place in the championship.

It meant he had finished two shots better than Morrow and his performance, coupled with his consistency in the major championships in recent months, was rewarded with a call up for Sweden.

"I'd never really had the chance before but since the end of 1999 I've put in a lot of work on my game and I'm finally seeing the benefits this year," said Browne. "I've been working hard with my coach Simon Byrne at Hermitage and I've reduced my handicap from scratch to plus three so I've taken my game to another level which is great.

"I also had dinner with Padraig Harrington recently and he's just fantastic with the amateurs and would go out of his way to help you in any way he can."

But while Browne has finally achieved his ambition of playing for Ireland, Morrow is not giving upon his international place just yet. And he appears determined to work harder than ever on his game over the coming months to keep pace with the young guns and stick around for a crack at the Seniors Tour.

"What really motivates me is pulling on that green jersey. I get a great buzz from that every time. But amateur golf is a different game now to when I started in the early seventies," he admitted. "It was a social occasion back then but the standard is rising all the time now. Everyone is very serious and there are coaches and mental men and diets in the equation and you have to work very hard on your game now just to compete."

Despite the challenges of the amateur game, the prospect of joining the European Seniors Tour in two years time tempts Morrow. But the Portmarnock based golf retailer admits he's reluctant to give up the amateur game and the international scene.

"I love to compete and I'm trying to give myself more time to play golf by cutting back on my involvement in the business. But turning professional would be a wrench and would also mean giving up Portmarnock and I still have a lot of ambitions as an amateur," he revealed.

But having watched former Ireland team-mate Denis O'Sullivan win twice in Europe last season, picking up a cool £70,000 into the bargain, Morrow knows that he only needs to move his game up a notch or two to test himself at that level when his amateur career finally ends.

"Turning pro is and option when you look at what Denis has done but you also have to think about spending 27 weeks of the year on tour," said Morrow this week. "When I play with Denis now he's got a lot more solid and never really looks like hitting a bad shot. So I would have to raise my game a notch but I want to do that as an amateur anyway."

The seed has been sown, however, and don't be surprised if you see Morrow out there testing himself with the Tommy Hortons and Des Smyths of the world in a few years time. If he pulls it off no doubt Browne will be the first to sing his praises.

Golf shorts

Pat Ruddy is back at his beloved European Club to see how the cream of Irish lady golfers tackle his classic links.

The Brittas Bay gem will play host to the Lancôme Irish Ladies Close championship from June 27 to July 1 and Ruddy is already on the scene implementing the course measurements laid down by Mary McKenna for the ILGU.

Ireland's number one course designer is just back from a long stay in Canada where he inaugurated the first 18 holes of a 36-hole complex at the Club de Lille de Montreal. Ruddy has already laid out the first nine holes of the second course and plans to return to Quebec soon after the Murphy's Irish Open to continue his work.

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Justin Kehoe will be hoping to go one better than last year in the Irish Youths Championship at Enniscrone.

The Sligo track will host the Irish Youths Amateur Open gets underway next Thursday with Kehoe set to succeed Graeme McDowell as champion.

The Birr man finished second at Malone last year but now looks a better player than ever. A recent call-up tot he Great Britain and Ireland Palmer Cup team, Kehoe will have to be at his best to see off class operators such as West of Ireland champion Michael McDermott, the McTernan brothers Sean and Martin and Ballyclare's Gareth Maybin.

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Royal County Down are busy preparing the course for the arrival of the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus.

The legendary champion will tee it up with old rivals Arnold Palmer and Gary Player in the £500,000 MasterCard British Senior Open from July 26-29.

The wet winter wreaked havoc with the greens but the ground staff have worked wonders and expect to have the famous links in pristine condition come July.

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Darren Clarke might be having putting problems but the big man is hitting a lot of fairways in regulation.

The big man was 10th in the European Tour driving accuracy statistics with a healthy 70.7 percent success rate.

But the news isn't quite so good for Ryder Cup colleague Padraig Harrington. The Stackstown man is lying a lowly 111th with just 59.9 percent of his tee shots finding the short stuff.

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© Brian Keogh 2001

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