Ryan best of the Irish in Portugal
Castletroy and UCD’s Chloe Ryan was best of the Irish as Letizia Bagnoli from Italy led from start to finish in winning the Portuguese Women’s Amateur International Championship by three strokes at Montado Golf Resort on the Costa Azul near Lisbon.
Bagnoli had rounds of 67, 74, 72 and 70 for a six-under-par total of 282. Denmark’s Line Toft Hansen was runner-up with rounds of 68, 73, 75 and 69 for 285. Three players shared third place on 286 including Julia Engstrom from Sweden, who, at the age of 15, was the youngest winner of the British women’s open amateur championship at Dundonald Links last summer.
Ryan carded rounds of 72, 76, 72 and 72 for a four-over-par total of 292 to finish in a share of 13th place. The reigning Irish Intervarsity champion had birdies at the second and third erased by a double bogey six at the fourth before playing the back nine in level par.
Lurgan’s Annabel Wilson fired rounds of 74, 74, 75 and 71 for a share of 18th place on six-over 294, while Julie McCarthy from Forrest Little and The Island was 29th on nine over after rounds of 73, 72, 79 and 73 for 297. Killarney’s Valerie Clancy also had a good week, finish inside the top 40 on 12-over after a final round 77.
Myles takes the gross at Portmarnock Links
Former boys international Alec Myles fired a three under par 68 to win the best gross in the Tuesday Winter Series outing at Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links. The 21-year old Newlands player finished two shots ahead of Warrenpoint’s Stephen Coulter, with Naas’ Robert Brazill, fresh from a successful recent trip to the Open de Andalucia, third on level par as 60 players took to the North Dublin links.
In the nett, there was a one-two for Baltinglass as three handicapper Joseph Byrne carded a 68 to edge out fellow member William Byrne by two shots with Woodbrook’s Conor McGlynn a shot further back in third with a 71 off four.
Disappointing return for Turner
Niall Turner’s return to Asian Tour action after a long injury lay-off proved to be more than testing. The Muskerry golfer was out for five months following a hip injury but having missed the cut on his return in Singapore two weeks ago, there was no luck at Pun Hlaing Golf Club in Yangon last week where he also missed out on the weekend action in the Leopalace21 Myanmar Open.
The 33-year old made two early birdies but dropped four shots after that and added a two over 73 to his first round 76 to finish well off the pace on seven-over par.
Tour rookie Todd Sinnott of Australia secured a convincing three-shot victory in only his second tournament in Asia. The 25-year-old Sinnott fired a flawless six-under-par 65 for a winning total of 14-under-par 270 to defeat Carlos Pigem of Spain, who closed with a 68 at the $$750,000 event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour.
Walker wins Joh Jacobs Award
Mike Walker, coach of 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett, has been awarded the John Jacobs Award for Teaching and Coaching at the PGAs of Europe’s Annual Congress Gala Awards. Walker was nominated by the PGA of Britain and Ireland and acknowledged with the accolade as one of the world’s leading coaches, having brought success to over 40 European Tour players over the past 10 years.
“I feel very humbled and very proud – especially with John Jacobs linked to my roots at Hallamshire and Lindrick Golf Clubs at different stages,” said Walker. “One of my players, Matt Fitzpatrick, originates from Hallamshire, and my first proper golf lesson was at Lindrick with Pete Cowen so it seems quite fitting.
“I am extremely honoured to be associated with such a household name, especially with his recent passing. My condolences go to his family and friends and I hope they know how much this means to me.”
The John Jacobs Award is the PGAs of Europe’s highest coaching accolade and is presented to a PGA Professional who has excelled as a golf coach at all levels of the game, be it with elite or beginner players alike across a number of years.
Previous winners of the award have included Shane Lowry’s coach, Neil Manchip, along with Michael Bannon, coach of Rory McIlroy and Salvador Luna, coach of Sergio Garcia.
China closes 111 golf courses
While a number of Irish courses have recently closed for economic reasons, China has announced the closure of 111 golf courses following a multi-year campaign to protect land and water resources. An additional 18 courses were ordered to return land and 47 clubs were told to halt construction.
Though building courses had been outlawed since 2004 in China, the number of golf courses has tripled in that time. Developers would often label courses as parks or housing ventures to get approval from local officials, secretly converting the projects down the line.
Eric Lynge, Chief Executive Officer, Asian Golf Industry Federation, said “The Asian Golf Industry Federation (AGIF) and its members have been aware of the Chinese Government’s policies for some time now and this formal news is not unexpected.
“What we view as positive is that 496 courses are now completely clear for continued operation. There is undeniable demand for the game in China which now can be served by these courses and new projects which are built under the proper regulatory guidelines.
“The AGIF supports sustainable and environmental construction of golf facilities in all the markets in which we operate. These elements are pillars of our education and dialogue with owners, club managers and turf grass professionals throughout Asia. We believe in the long-term growth of golf in China and the rest of Asia.”
