AMATEUR SCENE: Cian McNamara's and Rory McIlroy's achievements in recent weeks should give Ireland a major boost as they face into the Boys' Home Internationals starting at Portmarnock Golf Club this morning. Shay Keenan reports.
McNamara struck a blow for the underage players when winning the South of Ireland Championship in style at Lahinch last week while McIlroy, who still has another four years at boys level, showed a maturity beyond his 15 years in the European and the British Junior Open.
McIlroy also created history last week by being the first Irish player selected on the European Junior Ryder Cup team to face the USA next month after which the team will be guests of honour at the Ryder Cup in Oakland Hills, Michigan.
Ireland, who were second qualifiers in the Europeans but did not do themselves justice in the matchplay, will be keen to set the record straight and with links players McNamara, McIlroy, Connacht champion Andrew Pitcher (The Island) and plenty of home support this could be their year.
Portmarnock would be an appropriate setting for Ireland to win their first Internationals series since 1997. They were within a hair's breadth of landing the title last year at Royal St David's, but were denied at the last moment when England clawed back the final five singles matches after Ireland had looked certain to edge home.
Since Ireland's victory in 1997, England have reigned supreme with six successive triumphs. It is nine years since Scotland claimed the crown and Wales's most valued memory is a tie with Scotland in 1992.
England will no doubt start favourites once again. Yet, the Irish will hope to emulate their senior players, who managed to claim the Men's Home International crown at Ballybunion last autumn.
England have named two new caps, Seve Benson and Oliver Turnill, in the 11-strong team to defend the title.
The rest of what is a powerful line-up includes the successful squad from the European Boys' Team Championships in Finland in July - Lawrence Allen, Matthew Baldwin, Ben Evans, Oliver Fisher, Ben Parker and John Parry - plus Gary Boyd, Alex MacGregor, and Grant Slater.
Newly crowned champion Scott Henry will head the Scotland team. The young Cardross ace added the strokeplay title to the matchplay crown he won earlier this season to become only the third player to win both championships in the same year.
Only three players have won the Scottish double in the same year, Euan Murray in 1971, Steven Young in 1994 and, this year, Henry.
Henry (17) led the Scots to a fifth-place finish in the European Boys' Team Championship and helped the youths side to victory over Ireland in the annual international match between the two nations. The Scots finished third in last year's Boys' Home Internationals, but will be looking to challenge the other Home Unions for the title this time round.
After the Home Internationals the boys will set off for North Wales for the British Boys' Amateur Championship at Conwy GC, where Spanish golfing prodigy Pablo Martin is already a firm favourite to lift the title.
Three years ago, as a 15-year-old, Martin underlined his potential by winning the Boys' Championship at Ganton, and he continued that sequence of top-class performances last year at Royal Liverpool, where he lost by a one-hole margin to the Welsh youngster Rhys Davies.
With Davies now ineligible, Martin will be looking for a continuation of the form that this year won him the Carris Trophy by five shots from 17-year-old John Parry. Parry, the winner of the McEvoy Trophy, is one of a number of talented English boys aiming for the title.
Oliver Fisher (15), is one with several wins to his credit. At Gog Magog, he finished with rounds of 66 and 65 to become the youngest ever winner of the Lagonda Trophy and later won the Essex County Championship from his elder peers.
McNamara and McIlroy and Zac Gould of Wales are expected to do well. Gould, the leader of the Welsh Junior Order of Merit, was in impressive form recently and won the European Championship with a five-under-par total.
The Boys' Amateur Championship was inaugurated in 1921 and was played at Royal Ascot GC for the first two years.
In 1948, one of the founders, Col Thomas South, retired, and the R&A took over the administration of the event from 1949.
Since then, the Boys' Championship has become one of the world's premier events for junior players, with an impressive list of former winners including Michael Bonallack, Ronan Rafferty, Jose Maria Olazabal and, more recently, Sergio Garcia.
IRELAND: David Daly (Muskerry), Karl Gilbert (Malone), Nicholas Grant (Clandeboye), Christopher Hughes (Royal Portrush), Niall Kearney (Royal Dublin), Rory McIlroy (Holywood), Cian McNamara (Limerick), Aaron O'Callaghan (Douglas), Ronan O'Connor (The Island), Andrew Pitcher (The Island), Séamus Power (West Waterford). Captain: Ciarán Burke (City of Derry).
