Baltray eyeing home win
SOME of the top amateur players in Ireland and beyond will converge on Baltray this week as the latest running of the prestigious East of Ireland Championship is hosted by County Louth Golf Club.
And once again there is optimism that the impressive links course can finally produce a home-grown winner after a barren spell going back three decades.
Seapoint’s Declan Branigan did win the famous trophy in 1995, but the last County Louth player to land the holy grail was Finbarr Ronan in 1985, a year after his clubmate Barry Reddan prevailed.
However, there have been several ‘near misses’ since then, with runner-up finishes for County Louth quartet Nigel Beirth (1996) Simon Ward (2007), Gareth Bohill (2011) and most recently Gerard Dunne in 2016, and there is a feeling around Baltray that this might be their year at last.
General manager Liam Murphy said: ‘Gerard Dunne shot a 65 gross in the club last Saturday week, playing off +2, and still had enough shots to win, and it would be great if he could do it after doing so well two years ago.
‘His confidence will certainly be up after a score like that.’
Practice takes place on Friday, with rounds one and two on Saturday and Sunday and the two concluding rounds on Monday, with play beginning at 7.30am.
Dunne and co face stiff competition from a very high-quality field and Murphy, excited by the event’s high profile in the Irish golfing calendar, encouraged spectators to come down and see the action.
‘We have a bigger international contingent than ever before,’ he pointed out, ‘with entrants from South Africa, Argentina, all over continental Europe and obviously the UK, which is nice to see, and we have a better proportion of home-based top amateurs as well.
‘That’s been helped by the GUI introducing new criteria for the Order of Merit which filters into the Irish team for the Home Internationals.
‘The course is in great condition. The last couple of years we got very cold weather in May and it kept back growth quite a bit, but this year it’s a little bit further on and it will present a good test.
‘Everything is shaping up well and hopefully the good weather will continue, and we’re delighted to have the d Hotel on board as well as sponsors.’
Meanwhile, there are hopes that the Irish Open Championship will make a return visit to Baltray in the next few years after it staged the tournament in 2004 and 2009.
Asked about the possibility of County Louth hosting Europe’s top professionals in the near future, Murphy responded: ‘It’s a possibililty because of the way it’s being brought around the country.
‘We were not in the frame for 2019 and there seemed to be an appetite to bring it south [Lahinch was confirmed as the venue earlier this month] and it will probably go back north again in 2020.
‘We have not had any communication from the European Tour, but hopefully we might be in the frame again.’
NUMBERS drawn in last week’s Duleek AFC/SBG FC lotto were 1, 3, 6, 24 and the six €20 winners were Peg Rock, B Carroll, Kayla Kelly, Nagga, C O’Brien and Kenny Burke.
The draw takes place every Thursday at 8.30pm in the Duleek AFC clubhouse, tickets are available from committee members and this week’s jackpot remains at €8,000.
€25 winners NUMBERS drawn in last week’s Seneschalstown GAA Club lotto for a jackpot of €1,400 were 2, 4, 5, 20 and the five €25 prize-winners were as follows: Colm Curtis, John McPhilips, Laura Mullen, Jessica & Avril McKeever and Conor Duffy.