He added another at the eighth and felt he was staring a course

He added another at the eighth and felt he was staring a course record in the face.”I had the ball on a string on the outward nine,” he said “I was so relaxed and the greens are magnificent When I birdied 10, I thought I could beat the record. I thought that if I couldn’t get it going here, I wouldn’t do it anywhere But the back proved to be tougher. Darren Clarke, however, moved in the other direction as two double- bogeys on the back nine pushed him to a 76.Early trouble for Eamonn Darcy and Paul McGinley hampered their hopes of taking closer order so the main Irish interest as the leaders set off was in Philip Walton who birdied the first hole to go seven under.But the man who set the early pace yesterday was Warrington’s Derrick Cooper, who began his round at one under par and immediately set about improving his position with five birdies in the first six holes. Ronan Rafferty edged his way to the periphery of today’s final charge with a round of 70 which places him at four under.

Meanwhile, it continues to be one of the game’s sore points and tends to obscure the efforts of those who earn their money by scrambling to win prize money. Into that category falls Ireland’s David Feherty, one of the more appealing of the game’s free spirits.Feherty moved to Dallas last year to find his fortune on the American Tour but the impact he has made there is in sharp contrast to that of Nick Faldo. The Irishman has had matrimonial problems and his form has produced little in the way of revenue. The fact that he has lost three stone in weight and has to take frequent pain-killers completed an unhappy picture as he partnered Ballesteros out of the tournament.The other hopes of a rare home win – the last Irishman to win this event was John O’Leary in 1982 – were looking a little healthier yesterday. As it is, we’ve had an outburst from Colin Montgomerie that the fee is “outrageous” and a condemnation from Sam Torrance, aimed at the greedy managers and agents who negotiate these fees.Torrance made the very good point that it would be to everyone’s benefit if there was no appearance money. The legend compares the great white shark with a great black pint.Had Norman been a film star, his involvement would not have been questioned and his fee would not have been in the public domain. The Australian’s appeal to the sponsors Murphy’s is part of a clever advertising campaign.

Posters are plastered all over Ireland showing a glass of the sponsor’s product alongside Norman’s trademark black fedora with shark’s teeth tucked into the ribbon. The irony is that no player should attract more appearance money than the popular Spaniard. He probably did receive a small consideration for his presence but nothing compared with Greg Norman’s fee which was at the heart of the rowIn fairness to Norman, the sum of pounds 225,000 he is reputed to have received has more to do with a commercial deal than a mere golf tournament. It is disappointing to go home early from the tournament like this.” The tournament would have been equally sorry to see him go.