Limerick's bid for greatness begins with the toughest test

Since finishing hurling at county level, I have become obsessed with golf - much to the dismay of my wife.

I watched almost every minute of The Masters last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. The brilliance of Scottie Scheffler as he put on a masterclass of ball-striking on Sunday to hold off all challengers. They all made a surge at one stage or another but if they did Scheffler just drove it onto another level. His form coming into it was exceptional but his class will be what sets this guy apart from the rest and watch him clock up the major titles.

Why am I talking about golf on the week of the hurling championship? Firstly, I hear many say that The Masters is the greatest show on earth but, while it is on my bucket list, if someone stood in front of me and said you can only see one – Augusta or Ennis – hand on my heart I would take Ennis for the battle of Limerick and Clare this weekend.

You could not have scripted this any better. The form team in the country, playing at home in an atmosphere that Cusack Park will not have seen for some time, playing against the team chasing immortality by trying to do something that has never been done before in the hurling world. What a way to start this journey.

True, if Limerick lose on Sunday they will be far from done but it does dial up the pressure gauge a few levels for them going into game two if they don’t get the win in Ennis. It is the perfect storm and if we manage to see Clare at their strongest, with Tony Kelly on the field, you do feel that this is their time to say to the rest of the country the Banner are ready to win more trophies. The league victory will certainly have cemented belief that they can win on the big days when a trophy is on the line and to do it against