We need to find answers for Ireland’s stall
FOUR Irish players will feature in the final stage of Q-school this week.
Cormac Sharvin, Robin Dawson, Gavin Moynihan and Michael Hoey will tee it up in Tarragona as they bid to earn their 2019 cards.
For as long as I can remember Ireland has had a strong representation on tour, but it’s an ongoing concern that our numbers have dwindled.
In 2000, my first full season as a pro, we had 10 guys on Tour. I was surrounded by seasoned Irish players.
Recently, the production line has slowed right down.
Paul Dunne earned his card in 2015 and Shane Lowry six years before, but they are really the only two to emerge in the past decade.
As the years pass, it’s clear that the old guard of Rafferty, Feherty, Darcy, Walton and Smyth (all Ryder Cup stars in their day) haven’t been replaced.
True, we’ve enjoyed a glorious spell of major winners thanks to Harrington, G-mac, Rory and Clarke, but quality hasn’t been matched by quantity.
The perplexing thing is, we have enjoyed huge success at amateur level over the past 10 years. The GUI supports our amateur players a lot better than my generation, yet our best talent isn’t ending up on Tour.
Scotland hasn’t matched our recent amateur success, yet last week four Scots were in the top-15 on the final Challenge Tour rankings.
Paul Lawrie has had a huge influence on the next generation of Scottish players and should be commended for his efforts.
Clearly, it’s time we had a rethink on how our amateur stars are being managed and prepared for stepping into the professional arena.