THERE'S no such thing as an average Sunday although I suppose my Sundays would fall into playing and non-playing days. When I'm not playing then there's really no difference between Sunday and any other day of the week, I'd tend to lose track of what day it is. If I'm competing then Sunday is pay-day, just about every international competition finishes up on a Sunday in the late afternoon and if you're not still playing at that stage in the week then you're not going to be getting paid.

So on a playing Sunday it's when the going gets tough. I'll be hoping for a late tee time around 2pm and that I'm in with a chance of winning. I'd usually get up at around 9am and do about 40 minutes of stretching and stability exercises in my hotel room before heading for breakfast. I'll have a big breakfast because I won't be eating lunch . . . usually I'd go for porridge, fruit and a couple of scrambled eggs.

Since I discovered that my cholesterol was high I've given the full Irish a miss!

If my wife and son, Patrick, who's two, are with me then I'd spend a bit of time playing with him before I go on the course. If I'm in serious contention I'll be doing some visualisation work, seeing myself as the winner. I've had a few injuries over the years so I meet up with my Australian physio, Dale Richardson, who travels with me fulltime. He'll work with me for about 20 minutes and then I'll go to the driving range and practise until my tee time.

I snack all through the day, little and often. The round will take about four and a half hours. If you haven't won and you're in Europe then there's a mad dash for the airport to try and get home that evening.

If you've won then there'll be prize-giving but none of the other competitors would hang around for that, the locker room after the prizegiving is a lonely place.

If I'm not playing then Sunday is an easy day . . . I'd get up late, spend a bit of time practising or in the gym (I can do both at home), have lunch with my family either at my mother's or out somewhere like Little Caesar's or the Old Orchard in Rathfarnham. My mum makes great puddings, she's always trying to fatten me up. I might go to a movie in the evening, I'm not a great one for television . . . I'm away too much to keep up with soaps or series. I devour the papers but I steer clear of the sensational stuff.

A while ago I did a cholesterol test and got a result of 5.9. Six months later, having cut all the bad stuff out of my diet, it was up again and my doctor wanted to put me on medication.

That's when I heard about a certain low-fat spread. After three weeks my level is down by 16% so it's working.

It was clear to me that taking things out of my diet wasn't working so adding something in was worth a try. I like the taste too, so I'll be bringing a supply with me on holidays to Barbados.