European Tour Insider: A new Irish star in the making

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Masters champion Angel Cabrera is making his first European start of the season.

Eight major champions will be on show this week at the flagship event of the European Tour: the BMW PGA Championship at the Tour's home of Wentworth.

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Masters champion Angel Cabrera makes his first appearance of the year in Europe, aiming to repeat the success he enjoyed in winning on the West course in 2005. He would be regarded as one of the favorites regardless of the triumph at Augusta. He's had a wealth of success at the venue, having been second on two other occasions and with two further top-10s, as well.

Unfortunately and controversially, three-time major champion Padraig Harrington has elected to bypass the event for the second successive year.

"Oh, I feel pressure to play," said Harrington, who won the last two majors in 2008. "I know the Tour would like me to play in Wentworth. I know my fellow pros would like me to play Wentworth. I would like to play to a certain extent at Wentworth.

"Obviously, it has not fit into my schedule, and changing my schedule to turn up and play an event that if I play well I might finish 50th, sort of thing, is not ideal."

AMATEUR DRAMATICS
Harrington did, of course, play the event he regards as his fifth major: the 3 Irish Open held last week on the windswept links of Baltray. A fighting round of 68 on Friday had him reflecting how important it was to just make the cut -- and then the weather changed dramatically. From being safe at 3 under, he was squeezed out.

Lowry

A new Irish star stepped up, though.

Shane Lowry is a burly 22-year-old from the little town of Clara in County Offaly. An amateur, he was playing his first event alongside professionals on the Tour. He led after two days, was joint top into Sunday and edged an absorbing playoff for the most astounding and unexpected of victories. Unexpected, that is, apart from the people of Offaly and the Esker Hills Golf Club who turned out in force to support despite the incessant rain and buffeting winds.

He follows New Zealand's Danny Lee and the Spaniard Pablo Martin as amateurs to win on Tour.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS
So does Lowry turn professional? Of course, he will and missing out on $680,000 at Baltray will become a memory to chuckle about. But when will he chase the cash?

McIlroy

This section of my column might need a rewrite depending on when the parties finish in Ireland and when he has a clear head to make an announcement.

An immediate switch and he'll play the European Open. Wait a while and he'll be at Merion in Pennsylvania for the Walker Cup with Great Britian & Ireland's amateurs against the United States.

Lowry's friend Rory McIlroy has urged him to turn pro immediately. Darren Clarke turned pro at the age of 22 after an amateur win at Baltray and said, "He will be a better player if he turns professional."

Harrington, however, has advised differently. "He has plenty of time left to play professional golf, only a limited time to play amateur. I still rate playing three Walker Cups very highly on my achievements."

Lee, who won the Johnnie Walker Classic earlier this year, elected to play the Masters before turning pro. Martin wanted to play the U.S. Open after winning the 2007 Russian Open.

POLITICAL LEANINGS
Lowry comes from the same town as Brian Cowen, who is the Irish Taoiseach (essentially the prime minister), and the same county as Barack Obama.

The President can trace his ancestors to Moneygall in Offaly. Remember the green "O'Bama for President" t-shirts?

I suspect the parties in Offaly marking Obama's election were tame compared to the events of last weekend.

The Clara Harp and Shamrock Band led Lowry across the bridge to his hometown, and the celebrations began -- or began again, because the locals had been reveling since the winning putt was sunk.

ROCK SOLID
Lowry will not be competing at Wentworth. It is one event on the European Tour solely for professionals, and he didn't made the move soon enough.

Rock

The man beaten in the Irish playoff, Robert Rock, goes there on the back of two second-place finishes, and can look back to a fine performance there in 2003 when he finished just outside the top 20.

He was as little known then as Lowry last week. He was regarded as a total long-shot, playing from the Swingers Golf Centre in the English Midlands, and not a full member of the Tour. He went into the weekend with the likes of Ernie Els, Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomerie trailing in his wake.

Since then, he's always struggled to keep his playing rights from year to year -- until the last two weeks, that is, and he's now in the top 10 on the Race to Dubai.

RACE ACE
Oliver Wilson is fifth in the Race. The neck problems which ruled him out of THE PLAYERS Championship eased so he could compete in Ireland, though he has risked whiplash injuries in preparation for the BMW Championship.

Wilson was beaten in a playoff by Miguel Angel Jimenez at Wentworth last year, so to preview this year's event the sponsors invited the two to the Brands Hatch racing circuit. They were encouraged to floor it in one of the sponsor's fastest models, and shown the racing line by three-times World Touring Car champion Andy Priaulx.

Jimenez -- whose nickname is "The Mechanic" -- was also invited to change a wheel in the pit lane.

WHEELS IN MOTION
The wheels are turning towards the next Ryder Cup in Wales in 2010. Europe's captain Colin Montgomerie now has three wild-card picks for the next engagement in response to the success of the four choices Paul Azinger got last time around.

Monty also has a say in who captains teams in this season's Seve Trophy. Paul McGinley will command GB & Ireland against Thomas Bjorn's Europe team in the now re-named the Vivendi Trophy to be played in France in September.

McGinley says "I don't know whether I'll be a good captain or not. I certainly have the experience of playing in teams. I've learned a lot from the captains I've played under, so we'll see how it works out."

Both McGinley and Bjorn are expected to be Ryder Cup captains sometime down the road.