EYES ON THE PRIZES

Eisenhower Trophy a shop window for Irish championships. By Brian Keogh

WHATEVER about their hopes of hosting the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, County Sligo’s famed Rosses Point links will stage the 2019 Irish Amateur Open for the first time as part of the club’s 125-anniversary celebrations.

With Lahinch also in the mix for the $7 million Rolex Series event next year, when they will also stage the “South” and the Home Internationals, Ireland’s great links courses remain much-loved.

The 2023 Walker Cup is going to St Andrews, which means that venues such as Lahinch or County Sligo will have to wait until 2027 for the chance to follow in the footsteps of Portmarnock (1991) and Royal County Down (2007) as Irish hosts to the biennial matches.

But with the first staging of the World Amateur Team Championships set for Carton House this summer and The Open scheduled for Royal Portrush in 2019, Ireland will not only draw thousands of new visitors to these shores, but our prestigious championships could also get a much-needed boost.

County Louth will have a bumper field for East of Ireland Amateur Open Championship in June when our top players tee it up in Baltray rather than heading for the Brabazon Trophy at Frilford Heath.

The GUI’s new Bridgestone Order of Merit comprising the eight national and provincial championships is designed to bring those events front and centre.

Ireland’s championships and players are already performing favourably compared to their counterparts in the Home Unions when it comes to the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR).

The GUI keep a very close eye on the ratings of Ireland’s WAGR events and the number of Irish players ranked, and greater overseas participation can only help.

While the ratings awarded to events can vary widely depending on the fields assembled, several Irish men’s events could attract stronger overseas interest this year as the Eisenhower Trophy approaches.

According to the rules, no participants can play the Eisenhower Trophy course for a month before the World Amateur Team Championships, scheduled for September 5-8.

And so it is no great surprise that the GUI has already received enquiries from overseas federations interested in sending a squad to Royal County Down for the Irish Amateur Open in May before heading to Carton House for a reconnaissance trip.

Several nations have already made enquiries and should the Irish Amateur Open prove too early in the season for them, a trip to Baltray for the East or to Royal Portrush for the “North” or Lahinch for the “South” in July has not been ruled out.

While the Brabazon Trophy coincides with the “East”, competition for places in that event is now so fierce that not all international squads would get a full team into that field, increasing the chances of their arriving on Irish soil.

“We have had a few informal chats with a few interested parties,” said the GUI’s Director of Championships, Mark Wehrly. “Where possible, we have pointed them in the direction of our championships.

“So it would be a good legacy for the Eisenhower Trophy if players who might not normally come here took advantage and played in some of our championships.

“There is a lot to offer and certainly something we have seen as a potential opportunity so we will have to wait and see if it comes to fruition. That will depend on them, but we have put it out there as an added attraction.”