LINKS GOLF JUST NOT PRODUCING THE STARS
WHAT a shame the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open didn’t get a chance to light up the European Tour last week.
Mount Juliet bathed in sunshine would have been a striking spectacle for the cameras.
It’s always a treat to see Ireland’s top players tee it up in front of the home galleries.
And we’ve been blessed to have a great representation of tour players with the likes of Rory, Padraig, G-mac, Shane and Darren all starring in recent times.
But on an ever changing landscape, when will we see our next Irish superstar emerge? And where will he hail from?
The two powerhouse provinces of recent years are Leinster and Ulster and it begs the question: is that a coincidence or is there something more tangible behind the trend?
World No1 Rory, G-mac and Darren are all Ulster born, while Harrington has been the standout player from Leinster, followed by Open champion Lowry.
Munster has not produced a major champion yet, despite providing a number of talented European Tour players like father and son Liam and David Higgins.
Connacht has provided the fewest top players, with Christy O’connor Jnr and Francis
Howley the only two to tee it up at a high level on a consistent basis.
Before any golfing historians berate me, the stats I list include only those players who achieved full-time status and not those who played intermittently without a full card.
The European Tour was also founded in 1972 so I’m only going on records since then.
It means that Christy O’connor Snr, a 10-time Ryder Cup player and Irish legend, misses out, although his career definitely merits a mention.
Ulster leads the way with 57 tour wins since 1972. Leinster has 42, while Connacht and Munster have four and one respectively.
Across Ireland, Padraig leads the way with 15 European Tour wins, with Rory and Darren tied for second on 14 and G-mac amassing 11 victories.
A glaring statistic is the fact that only three players – Mcdowell, Des Smyth (eight wins) and Philip Walton (three wins) home-grown links
– are players.
We are famous in Ireland for our links players, but history tells us if you’re not a parkland player from Leinster or Ulster, the stats are against you having a top career.
The one thing our players have in common is that all amateur championships have been played on links golf courses, so they are accustomed to adapting to different challenges.
G-mac, Walton and Smyth all have quirky swings due to growing up on windy links, yet I can’t help conclude that the odds are stacked against you if you grow up in that environment.
As we wax lyrical about our hallowed links, the concern is they lend themselves more to tourists than producing champions of the future.