By SHAY KEENAN
Irish quartet for Australian Amateur
A FIELD featuring over 40 players from Ireland, Canada, USA, England, Japan, Canada, Singapore, Fiji and New Zealand will tee it up against Australia’s best in the Australian Men’s Amateur Championship at Woodlands and Huntingdale Golf Clubs from January 17th to 22nd.
Ireland, taking part for the first time in a decade, will be represented by Dermot McElroy from Ballymena, Reeve Whiston from the Mourne Club, Gary Hurley from West Waterford and Niall Gorey from Muskerry.
Last year’s champion Matt Stieger (NSW) will be back to defend his title, while runner-up Ben Campbell (NZL) will be hoping to go one better in this year’s competition.
Campbell will be looking to make it third time lucky having been the runner-up in the 2010 and 2011 championships.
The Irish quartet will go on to compete in the Lake Macquarie Amateur Open and the New South Wales Amateur.
Legendary golf writer honoured
LEGENDARY golf writer Jock MacVicar has been presented with a Scottish PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of a career spanning more than 50 years.
MacVicar covered his first Open for the Scottish Daily Express in 1962 and has been at virtually every championship since for the same newspaper.
He has also been present for many of the biggest moments in golf over the past half century, having covered numerous US Masters, US PGA Championships and a host of Ryder Cups.
A good golfer himself, the Glasgow-based journalist ranks Dunaverty in Kintyre as his favourite course.
Hull makes history in Harder Hall
ENGLAND’S Charley Hull is up and running for what promises to be another wonderful season for the 15-year-old from Woburn GC.
Starting the final round of the Harder Hall Womens Invitational two shots behind another 15-year-old, Ariya Jutanugarn from Bangkok, Hull fired a closing round of three-under-par 69 which took her past Ariya down the home straight and on to a two-shot victory with a six-under-par total of 282 – and that over a Sebring, Florida course which had been toughened up since last year.
The “Harder Hall” was started in 1956 and the winners roll is studded with names of girls who have gone on to win fame and fortune – but Hull is the youngest winner and the first from Europe. She will have her 16th birthday on March 20th. Hull’s earlier rounds were 70, 74 and 69. Jutanugarn had rounds of 72, 72, 67 and 73 for 284. Ariyas sister, Moriya, came third on 285 with scores of 75, 71, 68 and 71.
Finland back on Challenge schedule
FINLAND will make a welcome return to the Challenge Tour schedule this year when Kytäjä Golf Club hosts the Finnish Challenge from August 2nd-5th.
The acclaimed South East course at Kytäjä Golf Club, located 50km north of the Finnish capital Helsinki, came 72nd in Golf World magazine’s recent ranking of the top 100 courses in continental Europe.
The club boasts two 18-hole championship courses, both of which were designed by Canadian architect Thomas McBroom.
The last time Finland hosted a Challenge Tour event was in 2009, when the SK Golf Challenge was held at Linna Golf Club, in Vanajanlinna.
On that occasion Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts defeated Welshman Rhys Davies and Frenchman Julien Guerrier in a three-man play-off to take the title, before entering the winner’s enclosure on the European Tour at the 2011 Volvo China Open.
The last Finnish winner on the Challenge Tour was Antti Ahokas, who triumphed twice in 2008, firstly in Argentina and later in Denmark.
Ahokas is expected to lead the home nation’s challenge alongside his fellow Finn Mikko Korhonen.
Petri Peltoniemi, promoter of the event, said: “The Finnish Golf Union is proud to be hosting this event, and we hope we can follow up the great work done with previous Challenge Tour events in Finland.”
Cash prize offer at European Club
AMATEUR golfers are invited to compete for a cash prize of € 1,000 for a hole-in-one at The European Club in January, February and March.
Such a prize has become possible since January 1st when the RA changed the rules on prize values for amateurs and it is believed that The European Club cash-prize offer is the first under the new rules.
Hitherto, a prize voucher was limited to a retail value of €500 but amateurs may now accept unlimited cash prizes for holes-in-one scored during a competition round.
Players, male and female, amateurs with current handicap cards and Irish professionals, may play for the € 1,000 by entering an open singles which takes place at The European Club every day in January, February and March.
The prize, which will be divided if there is more than one hole-in-one, is on offer at the par-three sixth hole which will measure 200-yards for the purpose of this prize.
Players may enter as many open singles as they wish in the three-month period, on any day of the week, at an entry fee of € 60.
Timesheets are available at 0404-47415, while entries for the East of Ireland Matchplay Fourball are available any day in January and February.
Charities continue to benefit from Open spirit
THE Lancôme Open Greensomes has always been a fantastic opportunity for women to showcase their golfing skills and last year was no exception with Marian Finn and Susan Troy from Thurles GC winning the final in Killarney.
The competition has to date raised well over € 2 million, with an amazing €56,000 donated in 2011 alone. This is thanks to the generosity of all the contestants, whose preliminary-round entry fees of € 20 are donated to a charity of the Lady Captain’s choice. From these preliminary rounds – of which 24 throughout the country – only 56 players qualifiers from 50,000 on the golf circuit make it to the “Lancôme” final in Kerry.
Last year’s benefiting charities were Dowdstown Counselling Services Ltd, Carlow/Kilkenny Homecare, Breast Cancer Services Limerick, St Michael’s House, Marymount Hospice Cork, Irish Cancer Society, Irish Guide Dogs, Bray Lakers Adults/ Children Special Needs, National Breast Cancer Research Institute, Galway Hospice, Galway Contact, East Meath Meals on Wheels, St Vincent De Paul, Parkinsons Association of Ireland, Muscular Dystrophy Ireland, Huntingtons Disease Association of Ireland, Royal Hospital Donnybrook, Our Lady’s Hospice Harold’s Cross, Temple Street Children’s Hospital, Action Breast Cancer, Kerry Parents and Friends Association, Focus Ireland, Children’s Group Link Waterford and 3TS.
