Wednesday October 20th, 1999

Hazy sun and temperatures in the mid twenties greeted Eddie Irvine today at the Macau Golf and Country Club for a round of golf with a couple of his party as Eddie's Marco Polo tour continued. It seemed a good way to leave behind the controversy of the past couple of days, as argument continues to rage over the outcome of Friday's Court of Appeal over his exclusion from the Malaysian Grand Prix, effectively ending his and Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro's World Championship hopes.

Eddie, however, was in buoyant mood, and remained philosophical about what might happen in the Court of Appeal. He just achieved what he had to: he went out and won the four and a half hour round of golf on the first of Macau's two islands, overlooking the South China sea and Haca Sa beach.

He took a 20 minutes taxi ride out to the course just before midday, having already played there when he used to live in the Portuguese colony before he became a Formula One driver. Of course, Macau has its own motor racing heritage, as a stroll outside Eddie's hotel front door will testify. The extraordinary circuit that will host this year's 46th Macau Grand Prix is already being built ready for its November 21st date, when the best Formula Three drivers from Europe and Asia will meet on this demanding circuit. Eddie was once one of those drivers, which is why he decided to make the country his home for a little while when he was racing in Japan.