Doonbeg Writers' Cup is all about the fun, and the Cup of course

The Ryder Cup may be several months away, but golfing journalists from Europe and America have been battling it out for honours on the fairways and greens of Ireland's newest golfing legend in the making, Doonbeg

The Doonbeg Writers' Cup brought together two teams of eight golf scribes from all over America - including one interloper from Canada - and Europe for three days of intense competition on and off the course.

The competitive tone was set even before the first ball was struck in anger when USA captain Ronnie Musslewhite, Doonbeg's Charleston-based public relations director, sent an inflammatory email to the European team with photographs of him holding up a cup engraved with the USA team as winners.

It brought a swift rebuke from his opposite number, Roddy Guiney, who posed a simple question in reply, asking 'who are the current holders of the Ryder, Walker and Solheim cups?'

But the two-day event was played out in a comradely spirit that the golfers' professional counterparts would do well to emulate at Oakland Hills in September.

The format mirrored that of the Ryder Cup, with fourballs and foursomes followed by singles, and included team uniforms and even a helicopter transfer from Doonbeg to Dromoland Castle, where the awards dinner was held.

But a different scoring system was adopted to allow the participants to complete their rounds on the two-year-old Greg Norman links masterpiece. Instead of a single point per match the number of holes won or lost were counted - with the Americans winning by a landslide 35 holes, having cruised to an 11-hole win in one fourball.

That's not to say the event was not keenly contested.

The Europeans' do-or-die spirit was highlighted by TravelGolf.com's own Peter Ellegard, who carried on doggedly after an attempted forceful splash out of a pot bunker on the first hole of the first match ricocheted off the bunker face straight into his eyebrow.

After staunching the blood and taking painkillers, Ellegard and Swedish-based partner Paul Marshall fought back dramatically from three down with five to play to win by two holes, black eye and all.

But the singles saw one of Ellegard's beaten adversaries - Travelgolf.com's Tom Mackin - more than take revenge with a six-hole victory against him.

The event is now set to become a regular on the calendar, being staged every two years like the Ryder Cup. The return match is likely to be played in Kiawah, home of Doonbeg's owners, Kiawah Development Partners.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the latest phase of Doonbeg's 150m development, a luxury 56-suite lodge and clubhouse, was held during the event.

But the most memorable moment came from KDP president and CEO Buddy Darby, who joined the teams on the practice day - and got a hole in one on the course's signature par-3 14th.

As for the Europeans, they plan to re-group to try to win back the cup. They may have lost the battle but they won many new transatlantic friends - and they claim victory by a mile in the drinking stakes.