If any Irishwoman fails to make the European Solheim Cup team that will do battle with the USA on Irish soil next year, it certainly won’t be for any lack of support from the Team Ireland Golf Trust.

Of the €217,000 allocated to 17 aspiring golfers in the 2010 round of grants, €90,000 of that total has been awarded to five players competing on the Ladies European Tour.

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Darren Clarke

Darren Clarke failed to hole the putts when it mattered as South African Charl Schwartzel cruised to his second European Tour victory on the trot in the Joburg Open.

Four strokes clear overnight, the 25-year-old followed his one-shot Africa Open win last Sunday with a six-stroke triumph over Clarke and Keith Horne at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington.

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Michael Hoey is Irish golf's human roller coaster. One minute he's soaring high, the next he's hurtling in a death-dive towards the ground. Could 2010 be the year he finally puts his career on some sort of even keel?

Apparently not yet on the evidence of his start in the Africa Open at East London Golf Club in the Eastern Cape, where he birdied three of his last four holes to open with a five under par 68 around the 6,770-yard, par-73 track.

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Simon Thornton will respect his father’s dying wishes by chasing his European Tour dream in South Africa.

The former Royal County Down assistant, 32, lost his father Steve after short illness on Saturday.

But he has decided to make the long trip south and tee it up in this week’s Africa Open at East London Golf Club and next week’s Joburg Open as a tribute to his dad before flying back for the funeral.

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Ulster champion Barrie Trainor has been inspired by Irish Open hero Shane Lowry to sell shares in his golfing dream.

The 28-year old Warrenpoint talent wants to join Lowry on the European Tour after getting a glimpse of the promised land when playing alongside the Offaly star for the first two rounds of his historic 3 Irish Open win just seven months ago.

But he needs £25,000 (€27,500) to cover his expenses next season and hopes that 50 backers will invest £500 (€550) each to help keep his dream alive and allow him to play golf without worrying where next week's entry fee or boat fare is coming from.

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Fairytale story for Simon ThorntonGary Murphy and adopted Irishman Simon Thornton survived a nerve racking final day to earn their tour cards at the European Tour Qualifying School finals at PGA Golf de Catalunya.

Murphy, 37, fired a brilliant four under par 68 to finish a shot inside the top 30 and ties on 11 under par and secure the 17th of 31 cards after six rounds.

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Gary Murphy confessed that he wanted to “smack” the slow coaches who have almost wrecked his bid to win back his European Tour card.

But the 37 year old Kilkenny man still has a fighting chance of a tour return after a battling 69 left him two shots outside the top 30 and ties entering the sixth and final round of the gruesome Qualifying School finals at PGA Golf de Catalunya.

On a sun-kissed winter's day when Simon Thornton (67) moved into the top 30 and Niall Kearney slipped to 50th after a 74, Murphy did well to keep his cool and pick up six birdies after three dropped shots in the first two holes.

“The pace of place was a disgrace,” Murphy said. “Most of the guys here haven’t a clue and it was the same yesterday.

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Niall Kearney is a towering six feet four inches but he looked 10 feet tall as he fired a brilliant, three under par 69 on the stunning Stadium Course to stride like a colossus in the last two rounds of the 108-hole European Tour Qualifying School finals at PGA Golf de Catalunya.

Just 10 weeks after he impressed in the Walker Cup on US soil, the 21-year old from Royal Dublin continued his remarkably poised professional debut to share 24th place on seven under par with the top 30 and ties earning tour cards tomorrow evening.

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Jonathan Caldwell kept his hopes alive of winning back his European Tour card after a brave third round 68 catapulted him above the cut line at the Qualifying School finals in Spain.

The 25-year old former Walker Cup player from Clandeboye fired six birdies and two bogeys in a four under par effort on the terrifying Stadium Course at PGA Golf de Catalunya to leap from 96th into a tie for 61st on two under par.

England’s Simon Khan and Charlie Ford lead by a stroke from compatriot Jamie Elson on 14-under par with the top 70 and ties making the cut today and the top 30 and ties earning tour cards after six rounds.

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Kilkenny’s Gary Murphy took another small step towards regaining his card and Niall Kearney showed his huge potential on a wind-lashed second day of the European Tour Qualifying School finals at PGA Golf Catalunya.

A cold southwest wind gusting over 30 mph sent scores scoring at the stunning 36-hole Catalan complex just outside Girona but Murphy was up to the challenge as he leapt into a share of seventh place on six under par.

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Colm Moriarty crafted an immaculate five under par 65 to spearhead Ireland’s challenge in the first round of the marathon European Tour Qualifying School finals at PGA Golf de Catalunya.

The 30-year old midlander carded five birdies in a fine ball-striking effort on the easier Tour Course but amazingly still found himself sharing seventh place behind Julien Guerrier of France, who blasted 11 birdies in a sensational 10-under par 60 on the same track to top the leaderboard by four strokes.

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Philip Walton once described it as being “like a prison sentence” but for triple major winner Padraig Harrington, the European Tour Qualifying School is a place of horror. In fact, it's the only place he has ever seen a ghost.

The annual, six-round nightmare pits 156 players - a mixture of young dreamers and old battle-hardened old hands - in a scramble for 30 tour cards. It is a nerve-shredding race where the only fans are their relatives and friends, the golfing equivalent of a slow death that leaves lifelong scars.

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