The European Tour arrives back in Ireland this week with the 3 Irish Open taking centre stage in Killarney and few would bet against a home grown winner.
This has been a bumper year for Irish golf with Rory McIlroy winning his maiden PGA Tour title and Graeme McDowell adding his name to the list of Major winners thanks to his success in the US Open.
Both golfers have travelled to Kerry for their national open and will be joined by the likes of Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Shane Lowry and Damien McGrane.
This year marks a new date for the Irish Open and the number of top-class golfers in the field would appear to justify the switch from mid-May.
Harrington won the Irish Open in 2007 and he will be hoping luck is on his side as he looks to end a near two-year drought. The Dubliner has not won a title since the 2008 USPGA Championship and he has arrived in Killarney in determined fashion, partly because he needs a good week to give his chances of qualifying for the Ryder Cup a much-needed boost.
Buoyed on by the home crowd Harrington is likely to fare well and could face stiff opposition from McIlroy and McDowell, who are the bookies favourites to take the crown.
McIlroy recently admitted that the Irish Open is one of the events that he really wants to win and the Northern Ireland golfer has shown in the past that determination can get him anywhere.
McDowell, meanwhile, took a break after the British Open to gather himself and he will come here fresh and hoping for yet another good weekend - the Irish Open would sit nicely alongside his US crown.
Last year it was Lowry who grabbed all the headlines as he defied his amateur status to win the title and his recent form would suggest that he has every chance of successfully defending the championship.
Indeed, the Irish challenge is as strong as it is ever likely to be with Clarke and McGrane both worth noting, the latter comes here on the back of a top ten finish in Scandinavia last week.
Bradley Dredge was beaten in a play-off by Harrington in 2007 and had the chance to make amends the following year, only to close with a disappointing 76. The Welshman has been in good form in recent weeks and it would not be a surprise to see him go well once more in Ireland.
Another player worth following is Justin Rose, who has been in sublime form on the PGA Tour. He has claimed two victories in the space of a month and he will be determined to have a big week as he looks to climb the Ryder Cup rankings.