Irish golfing legend Eamonn Darcy returns to competition at today’s (FRID) starting Scottish Seniors at St. Andrews knowing he’s facing keyhole surgery later this year on his injured shoulder.

Darcy, who turned 58 earlier this month, has played just events this year since injuring his left shoulder while practicing last March at Druids Glen.

The 15-times winning Darcy had a cortisone injection in Dublin on Monday and is taking pain-killers and anti-inflammatories in order to take his place in the 75-player field competing at St. Andrews Bay to the east of the township.

“I came out this year feeling really good about everything and went down to Spain and finished eighth in my first tournament for about five months,” he said.

“We then had a week off ahead of five in a row, and I thought I would definitely get a hit in one of them but I was hitting a driver at Druids Glen and felt this horrible pain.”

Darcy indicated his injury was diagnosed as a tear in the tendon underneath his rotator cup and his doctors have been injecting cortisone seeking to reduce the inflammation in the tendon.

“I was in so much pain and only came back for the recent British Senior Open, and even now it’s still giving me pain while it’s really uncomfortable at night when I’m sleeping,” he said.

“But the specialists in Dublin said the only way it can be cured is through key hole surgery and I’ll get that done at the end of the year.

“If it’s warm this week, and the forecast is not promising, then I have a chance of getting round.

“But I’m still very much competitive and I wanted to give it another go, and besides you would do everything instead of having an operation.

“I really don’t want to have an operation but in saying that, I believe it is very successful.

“But it also means another three months out of action and that’s another lengthy time off.”

Surprisingly, Darcy led his Pro-Am team to victory on Wednesday.

Darcy is joined in the Scottish Seniors by fellow Irish Des Smyth, Denis O’Sullivan, Jimmy Heggarty, Liam Higgins and Eddie Polland.

England’s Barry Lane, who was joint third in last month’s Seniors British Open and who is also competing in next week’s main European Tour event at Gleneagles, is the defending Scottish Seniors champion.

FOOTNOTE –

Darcy delighted patrons of the famed Golf Hotel in Crail on Wednesday night.  The Irish golfer is staying in Crail during Scottish Seniors week.