Compiled by SHAY KEENAN
Germany's Lampert wins
GERMANY’S Karolin Lampert, who is 92nd in the women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings, won the Spanish women’s amateur international championship at El Valle Golf Club, Murcia.
Lampert beat the unranked Ileen Nieuwenhuis from the Netherlands 4 and 3 in the final. She was roughly level par for the 15 holes played in the final.
The German player won the first hole with a par and the third with a birdie and by the turn had established a four-hole lead with successes at the fifth, eighth and ninth. Lampert won the 10th with a par and the 11th with a birdie and closed out the match on the 15th.
Another college win for Meadow
STEPHANIE MEADOW, the highest Home Nations ranked player in the Womens World Amateur Rankings (likely to go to 4 or 5 when the rankings are done in midweek) has scored yet another win on the US women’s college circuit.
It’s her fifth win in only 17 tournaments as an Alabama University student – three victories in her freshman year and now a second win in the 2011-12 college year. No Alabama student has ever won five college golf tournaments – the previous best was three.
Meadow made all the running to win the weather-shortened Darius Rucker Intercollegiate at Long Cove Club, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina on Sunday. Only 36 holes were played instead of the scheduled 54 because of bad weather in the area.
Meadow, from Jordanstown, led by four shots after a first-round 67, four-under-par, and she added a final-round 70 for a five-under aggregate of 137.
It was an Alabama 1-2 with Meadows team-mate Brooke Pancake (No 30 in WAGR) – already selected on the United States line-up for the Curtis Cup match at Nairn – finishing second on 140 (71-69). Other members of the American team bound for Scotland finished well behind Meadow.
WAGR number 23 Emily Tubert (Arkansas) (73-77) totalled 150.
Battle for Champions Cup gets underway
GOLF DIGEST Ireland have unveiled the Golf Digest Turkish Airlines Champions Cup.
Standing at over 40 inches tall it is the biggest silver trophy in the history of Irish sports and is 28.1cm bigger than soccer’s Uefa Champions League Cup and 10.8cm bigger than US ice hockey’s Stanley Cup.
The Golf Digest Turkish Airlines Champions Cup was unveiled at the February Open, which took place on the Bernhard Langer designed course at Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links.
The Open was the curtain- raiser to the event schedule 2012, which is now officially underway.
Padraig Harrington’s brother Tadgh Harrington, picked up first prize in Class one with 39 points playing off eight.
Ned Kelly playing off 18 won class two with 39 points, while Valerie Cotter won the women’s section with 37 points playing off a handicap of eight.
There are 12 Golf Digest Turkish Airlines Open Tournaments in the 2012 schedule including The K Club, Killeen Castle, Carton House, The Heritage, Galgorm Castle, Killarney, Farnham Estate, Moyvalley, Glasson, The Links Portmarnock and Castleknock.
Entry is open to all golfers with or without an official handicap by simply logging on to www.golfdigestevents.ieto book your place.
Entries sought for Grange GC 'Race'
ENTRY IS now open for the Grange GC “Race to July 2012”. This five-round tounament is open to men, women and professionals with qualifying events on Thursday, March 22nd, Thursday, April 26th; Monday, May 28th; Thursday, June 28th and the Grand final on July 23rd.
The best four cards from the five outings will count for the overall prize, with double points on offer on the final day.
The cost is € 40 per round or € 160 for all five (five for the price of four).
A limited number of professionals will play for a separate prize fund while there are amateur prizes for each event and also for the Order of Merit. Bookings on line at www.grangegc.com
THE Golf Show, Europes largest golf trade show and education event, will take place in October this year. Once again the three-day event will be staged at the Harrogate International Centre, from October 9th to 11th.
Curran wins Hilary at Seapoint
ST ANNE’S Darragh Curran won the third event of the RaboDirect Hilary Golf Society season at Seapoint Golf Club on Sunday.
The Des Smyth/Declan Branigan designed links proved a stern test and a stiff crosswind made scoring difficult, but Curran emerged victorious with a credible nett 72, recovering from a bogey, double bogey start to cover the remaining holes in just two-over-par – with a level par back nine good enough to beat clubmate Paul Behan on a tie.
Behan also started slowly with bogeys at the first and third holes, but a birdie at the fifth laid the foundations for a solid round for the three handicaper, while Corrstown’s Paul Higgins finished third with a 73.
Sutton’s Derek Downie, won his second gross, carding three birdies in a 75.
After three events Curran, Behan and Downie are nicely placed in the race for the Gold Medal. The next event is at Royal Dublin on Sunday, March 18th. Details on www.hilarygolf.ie
Twenty events in Faldo Series
NICK FALDO has announced a 2012 Faldo Series Europe schedule that features a record 20 events in 14 countries, including new tournaments in Austria, Bahrain and Chile.
Faldo said: “2012 is a significant year for Faldo Series participants as we expand our activities across Europe, the Middle East and South America.
“When you factor in our Asian schedule as well, we hope to bring opportunity to 7,000 young golfers this year through 37 events in 27 countries worldwide. It is the generous support of our partners, including The RA, the European Tour and Lough Erne, which makes this possible.”
The Faldo Series Ireland Championship will take place at Lough Erne Resort in Fermanagh on April 17th with the Grand Final also scheduled for Lough Erne later in the year.
The 2012 Faldo Series Europe schedule also features six tournaments in England plus in Bahrain, Chile, the Czech Republic, Greece, Wales, Austria, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Scotland, Slovakia and Russia.
Open to boys and girls aged 12 to 21 and past winners include major winners Rory McIlroy and Yani Tseng.
