Connacht boys making waves on Ireland panel
LEINSTER and Ulster dominate the lists but Connacht golf has every reason to be proud of the composition of the Irish Boys panels for
2018.
While there are eight players from both Leinster and Ulster named in the
Under 16 and Under 18 squads, Connacht’s representation of five can only be seen as a positive reflection on the game in what has traditionally been one of the weaker provinces.
Athenry’s Allan Hill and David Kitt, the recent Irish Close runner-up, are joined by the up-and-coming Connemara talent Luke O’Neill with Roscommon’s Thomas Higgins and Athlone’s Eoin McGrath making the Under
16 panel.
In total, 23 players representing 22 different clubs have been selected with two-time Irish Boys champion Mark Power the stand-out in the 12-strong
Under-18 Panel. Power is one of four players are retained from
2017 with Rosslare’s John Brady — Ireland’s leading player in this year’s British Boys — Carton House’s Jack Doherty and Mallow’s Edward Walsh all recalled to the set-up.
Walsh is one of just two Munster players in the squads alongside under 16 player Mel Deasy from Bantry Bay.
But there is also a strong representation from Ulster with Holywood’s rising star, Tom McKibbin, promoted from the Under-16 Panel along with Slieve Russell’s Odhran Maguire (a brother of Lisa and world No 1 Leon a Maguire) and Lisburn’s Aaron Marshall.
Winning a major boys event remains the goal for the 2018 season, which will begin with the Cardigan Cup in Wales in March.
The European Boys Team Championship (10-14 July, Czech Republic) and the Boys Home Internationals (7-9 August, Royal Dornoch) will also be the major targets.
Hilton Templepatrick’s Josh Black and Greenacres’s Keaton Morrison return to the Under-16 panel and will benefit from coaching weekends at the GUI National Golf Academy in Carton House under National Coach Neil Manchip.