Irish Love Their Golf 2% More Than Scots!

Well, something like that. David Owen (presumably not the Golf Digest/New Yorker Owen?) reports on a new, utterly meaningless KPMG study that found the Irish, ah...you be the judge...

Golf is now more popular in Ireland than in the sport's traditional home of Scotland, according to new figures from KPMG which reveal that 7% of Irish people are affiliated to their national golf union via club membership, compared with only 5% in Scotland.

The success of Irish golfers, as epitomised by Padraig Harrington's victory in last year's Open Championship at Carnoustie, is helping to spark a golf boom on the Emerald Isle, with the sport now more popular there than anywhere else in Europe.

The Nordic countries come closest to matching Ireland's participation rating, with Sweden scoring 6% and Iceland 5.3%. Wales, the prospective host of the 2010 Ryder Cup, has 2.4% participation, with England on 1.9%.