A chance to play in the Murphy's Irish Open Pro-Am is on offer to guests at Kelly's Resort Hotel, Rosslare this year. The hotel, which traces its origins back to 1895, will be celebrating its record of hospitality spanning three centuries with a Millennium Golf Classic. Each midweek this year golfing guests at Kelly's will have the opportunity of playing in a 36-hole competition at Rosslare, St Helen's Bay or Wexford for valuable weekly prizes and the chance of entering a play-off competition in Mount Juliet to qualify for the Murphy's Irish Open Pro-Am in 2001.

Visitors to the Third Age Expo at the RDS from March 5th to 7th will have the opportunity of free golf lessons. Members of the PGA (Irish Section) will be on hand to offer advice, tips and lessons from specially constructed practice nets. "Third Age is the only Irish exhibition in which we participate, and last year we were over-run for lessons, and for the 2000 event we plan to increase the number of professionals giving lesson," said Michael McCummiskey, general secretary of the PGA.

While they weren't operating at Darren Clarke's level, three other Ulster golfers performed well in the United States last weekend. The Collegiate season resumed with the 49er Classic at the Virginia Country Club in California where the University of Alabama took top honours. Their team included Graeme McDowell (Portrush) who finished second in the individual standings on one over par and Chris Devlin (Ballymena) who tied for tenth on six over.

Ricky Elliott (Portrush) was the top finisher for fifth placed University of Toledo. He finished with a two under par 69 for fifth place overall on four over.