by Greg Allen
The JP McManus Pro Am has come and gone and that’s it for another five years but from now until the next staging in 2015, the legacy of the 2010 version will be lasting and profound.
Five years ago, when a burgeoning economy helped loosen purse strings and wallets to an unprecedented extent, the Pro-Am generated €31million for causes in the Limerick and Midwest region. While it would be optimistic to think of such a figure being approached on this occasion in the midst of trying times all round especially for charities, there will be many millions heading in the direction of facilities like those which benefitted from the windfall five years ago.
To most of us, €31million is a figure too large to comprehend in terms of how tangibly it effects peoples’ lives but consider this sample of how deep an effect the proceeds from 2005 had on services in the Limerick area.
JP McManus Pro-Am Galleries: Day One - Day Two
The €500,000 that went to Cahercalla Hospital and Hospice helped to build and fit out twelve residential one bed units. The €2million that went to Milford Care Centre vastly improved the in-patient hospice palliative care of the facility while the €500,00 that went to Focus Ireland helped them acquire and develop 80 residential units.
On and on the list goes. And all because sportsmen with talent give two days once every few years to both enjoy themselves in five star luxury and yet give of their time to entertain and attract crowds of 40,000 a day.
It would be easy to class it as an exhibition event - a curiosity of a sporting contest that has mass spectator appeal, but it is not that easy to pigeonhole.
McManus Pro-Am: unique in the golfing world
In fact, it is almost impossible to draw a comparison with anything else in the world of golf. While America has an abundance of PGA Tour events which link in with charities in the local communities, the scale of the JP McManus Pro Am is what sets it apart.
And we are not just talking money here. The fact that 13 of the world’s top 17 players played at Adare Manor is a tribute to many factors not least of them being the quietly persuasive J P McManus. But there is also his ‘ambassador’ on the tour Pádraig Harrington and of course there is also the presence of Tiger Woods.
Without him, the event would no doubt still be exceptional. With him it is phenomenal.
Those who observed Woods over the two days would have seen a man deep in his own thoughts and clearly subdued. As sombre as he seemed, there was however an inherent politeness in his bearing which was certainly not a hallmark of his sometimes snarly demeanour at the US Open at Pebble Beach a fortnight earlier.
At last Monday’s press conference where, with the exception of one contributor Woods was questioned thoroughly but reasonably, he was unfailingly calm and restrained.
There have been reports of him being terse and even one of him being tetchy, but with his whole life apparently fair game for interrogators these days, it appeared that he was simply playing it safe, obviously anxious to please his host and not create any sensational headlines.
Tiger Woods - bore sadness with dignity
The fact that some conclusions were drawn from his 20 minutes in front of the media was more a result of an attempt to seek a story than one actually developing.
All I saw was a man who bore his obvious sadness with a fair degree of dignity, which hasn’t been his strong suit of late.
It was by far his most honest press conference performance since his awkward confessional exercise last February in front of an invited audience.
There were no combative ripostes similar to the ones he has delivered on several occasions, especially at the US Open. No, this time he went out of his way to be unfailingly polite. It was a gesture which said more about his friendship with J P McManus than any words could achieve.
He may have flown home before the banquet but then again he was trying to maximise his time with his children, Sam and Charlie before he heads back for the Open at St Andrews a few days later.
From a golf perspective, there is little that can be read into the results of the Pro-Am.
It is not entirely clear why the scoring was so modest all round but Woods proved his form is still very hit and miss with his rounds of 79 and 69.
Clarke's victory: evidence talent is still present
There was also evidence that there is still considerable life and talent in Darren Clarke’s game while the quiet story of the week was Shane Lowry’s comfort in rubbing shoulders with the world’s best players not just in the fact that he finished in a tie for third place but also because he was the only player out of 54 starters who managed to avoid a round over par in the tournament.
But golf gets a lot more serious over the next week or so than anything that was seen in Adare.
We are, after all, in the fillet of the major golf championship season and a Pro-Am is a happy diversion but as representatives of charities in the Limerick area will testify over the next few years, the event will have a tangible and lasting effect on the lives of people, many of whom would not have been healthy enough to travel and watch what was a thoroughly remarkable spectacle.
