TONY JACKLIN will jet in to Dublin Airport today for the inaugural AIB Irish Seniors Open, which begins at St Margaret's Golf and Country Club on Friday, to some strangely familiar news.
The former US Open and British Open champion - who plies his skills on the US Seniors Tour - will discover that his former Ryder Cup colleague Tommy Horton has resumed the 1997 European circuit in a similar vein to the way he concluded last season.
Horton, who topped the European Seniors moneylist last season with £133,195, won the opening event on this year's campaign when taking the Turkish Seniors Open at the weekend. The Royal Jersey professional dominated last season's tour, winning five times, and his Turkish success brought his total number of European Seniors Tour wins to 13.
Although Jacklin's successes on the US Seniors Tour have been rather less prolific than his Ryder Cup teammate of 1975 and 1977, the Englishman still retains a special aura. Indeed, his return to competition in Ireland will be special if only to reacquaint himself with Christy O'Connor Snr who was actually on the then British and Irish team when Jacklin made his Ryder Cup debut in 1967.
O'Connor, who like Jacklin is playing on a sponsor's invite, is one of just four Irish players in the restricted 44man field for the Irish Seniors which carries a prizefund of £75,000. The Royal Dublin player is joined by Liam Higgins, a three time winner on the Seniors Tour, Baltinglass professional Michael Murphy and Arthur Spring, who won his tour card through the qualifying school and receives a sponsor's invite. Hugh Boyle is second reserve but will only get a place in the field if two players withdraw.
An indication of the quality of the field, however, is that 17 players who finished in the top 20 in the Order of Merit last season are committed to playing, among them Malcolm Gregson, Noel Ratcliffe, Antonio Garrido, Maurice Bembridge, Bobby Verwey, Brian Huggett and Neil Coles who all secured top ten places.
