Sure, we have to be a brilliant race of swingers!

For one glorious month we all but ruled the world and at the same time gave our best players every reason to dream of great things.

What could be going through Brendan McGovern's mind after running Harrington to a playoff in the Irish Professional Championship the week before the latter's British Open win in another playoff? McGovern, as modest and generous as he is talented, professed himself an admirer and fan of Harrington's at the Irish presentation and admitted "even my children were applauding his good shots today".

Now, there is a disconcerting image! A man is locked in combat, with the biggest win of his career within his grasp, and his children are cheering the enemy! It just goes to show how well-bred they are in golfing terms and how genuine is McGovern, and the Irish-at-large, goodwill towards our heroes on the European Tour.

Far from being reduced to short rations and house arrest the McGovern kids joined the family celebration at Harrington's big win a week later.

The Irish Tour players are rightly admired and praised.

Their achievements are our achievments. We share in their trials and tribulations.

But how superior are they to the home-based players, what is the gap between chalk and cheese, when it all boils down?

Slender. Minute. Almost invisible.

Four times around a golf course measuring 7,000 yards gives a total of 28,000 yards of golf. At the end of that it is all decided by a roll of a ball. Quite often less.

Maybe 0.1 of an inch divides the champion from the forgotten runner-up and the 50th man might be only sixinches off the mark over four days. If only a few of those lipped putts would drop the history of golf would be rewritten in a jiffy.

But it is a cruel game and everyone is judged by what goes on the card. By that standard the leading Irish amateurs have been doing very well of late and even they will be interested by what follows.

Richard Sterne currently holds the lead in the average score per round on this year's European Tour. His 70.07 is followed by Ernie Els on 70.18.

The benchmark for Irish players is set by Padraig Harrington, who is back in 28th place with an average of 71even for 34 rounds. Graeme McDowell and Paul McGinley rank 49 and 51 respectively with averages of 71.2 and 71.23 having played 60 and 56 rounds.

How proud, therefore, should be Richard Kilpatrick with an average of 71.4 strokes per round compiled over 14 rounds at this year's West of Ireland, East of Ireland, Irish Amateur Open and European Team Championship.

The same stroke average per round would be worth 68th place on the European Tour and 0.02-strokes per round ahead of Thomas Levet and Damian McGrane with Peter Lawrie 0.03 per round further back.

Simon Ward isn't far behind that with an average of 71.9; and Jonathan Caldwell's 72.25 average places him 0.04 per round ahead of Thomas Bjorn.

The amateur averages are likely to have been better still had they been given an opportunity of playing the qualifying rounds of the North of Ireland at Portrush where Rory McIlroy had an amazing 61 just two years ago. But they were given exemptions from qualifying not, as an evil mind might surmise, to protect Portrush from a further bashing but to allow them to represent Ireland in that winning bid for the European Team Championship at Western Gailes.

The way to hell is paved with "what could have been" but the amateurs are even closer to the professionals than the overall statistics suggest as, being amateurs, they have shown a tendency to produce one or two terrible rounds which are very damaging to their averages.

Whereas a professional is murderous or suicidal if ever he approaches a 75 the amateur will have a very bad day now and then as did Simon Ward with openers of 78 and 77 in the Irish Amateur Open at Royal Dublin and as did Jonathan Caldwell with a closing 82.

Sadly, they all count. It is an 18-hole game, 72-holes in a strokeplay tournament, and even the mistakes matter.

Inconsistency and lapses in concentration divide the good from the great and it can all be as frustrating as the bar being knocked by the slight air turbulence created by the pole-vaulter's passing body.

The Claret Jug is just inches away.

* The R&A insist on calling the event THE OPEN Championship but in view of their reluctance to bring it to Ireland they will just have to settle for the more modest name of British Open Championship in my book until they change their stance.

HOLE-IN-ONE CLUB WINNERS

The winner of this week's hole in one competition and the prize of a Ping collection polo shirt and a fourball in Druids Glen and a fourball in Druids Heath plus a lesson with resident PGA pro is Helen O'Brien Murphy of Arconagh, Naas, Co Kildare.

This week's runners up, who receive six golf balls, ball marker and pitch repair kit, are: Paddy O'Leary, Ummera, Macroom, Co Cork John Tiernan, Warren Way, Boyle, Co Roscommon Noel McDermott, Sutton Park, Sutton, Dublin 13 Pat Carney, Westport, Co Mayo Frank Moran, Maywood Ave, Raheny, Dublin 5 Brian Sexton, Parkmore Drive, Terenure, Dublin 6W Louise Fleming, Abbeyside, Dungarvan, Co Waterford John P McGowan, Strand Hill, Co Sligo Bunty Flynn, Mitchelstown, Co Cork