IRISH international Stephen Murphy received a late season bonus worth at least £6,000 yesterday when it was announced that Benson and Hedges have invited hind to play in this year's Irish Masters in Goffs.
The Masters is one of the richest invitation events in the sport, and the chance to play in this year's tournament, which takes place at the Kildare venue from March 18th-23rd and has a prize fond of £195,000, including £72,000 for the winner, will come as a tremendous boost for the 26 year old Dubliner. Murphy has struggled to establish himself at the top of the game, and earned just £14,800 in prize money last season.
"I've been going to Goffs since I was a young lad and I'm over the moon to think that this year I'm actually playing in the tournament," said Murphy, who would pick up £6,000 even if he were to lose to John Parrott in the first round. I feel privileged to be there and I am going to enjoy every minute of it."
While Murphy is justifiably delighted with his inclusion, the sponsor's decision will come as a disappointment to his fellow Dubliner and team mate at the World Cup in Bangkok, Fergal O'Brien, who made the semi finals of the Irish Masters in 1994 when he beat Stephen Hendry on the way to the last four.
This year the Clondalkin professional has moved up 10 places to 26 on the provisional ranking list - 40 places higher than Murphy with a string of solid performances. He is one match away from a place in the first round proper of the World Championships at the Crucible in April.
"I wouldn't like people to think that it simply came down to a choice between these two," said Masters spokesman Kevin Norton yesterday. "There are a lot of people who will think that they deserved an invitation, but world rankings doesn't come into the wild cards, they are the sponsors decision, and the fact that Fergal had received one three years ago would have been a factor in the decision."
With the format of the event based, in recent years, on automatic places for the leading eight players in the world, as well as four invitations, the options of the sponsors were limited, particularly as neither the defending champion, Darren Morgan, nor eight time winner Steve Davis qualified.
Morgan has struggled to find anything approaching his best form this season, with a succession of early exits in events like the Scottish Masters, Maltese Grand Prix and British Grand Prix contributing to a slip in his ranking from none at the start of the season to 15 now.
His inclusion in the first round draw for Goffs means that he is only the second player to require an invitation to defend the Irish Masters title, after Alex Higgins, who beat Hendry in the 1989 final.
Davis, meanwhile, always seemed a certainty to return to the event despite briefly slipping out of the world's top 10. He has won eight of the 10 finals he has appeared in here, and is enjoying greater popularity now than during his long spell as the world number one.
He has also displayed a strong return to form recently, including victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-8 in the final of the British Masters to pick up his first title in more than two years - and £135,000, the largest cheque of his long career.
The other wild card has gone to another former champion, Jimmy White, who recently dropped out of the world's leading 32, but who said last week that he is still convinced that he is the best player on the circuit.
Of the men who have qualified for the event through their status as top eight players, the return of six time world champion Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, O'Sullivan and local favourite Ken Doherty will create the most interest.
The line up is completed by Alan McManus, John Parrott, Nigel Bond and the 1995 champion, Peter Ebdon. There is, however, no place for 21 year old Welshman Mark J Williams, who has shot up to number three on the provisional list thanks to two tournament wins and several other strong performances. He is expected to make his Goffs debut in 1998.
