The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Looking to 2019 and the return of ‘The Close’
THE local golfing scene is quiet this time of year on the playing side of things at least, but it is the time of year when clubs host their AGM and new captains are installed in office for the year ahead, so its maybe time to have a look at what’s happening on the golfing front for 2019.
January 1st sees the introduction of a brand-new set of rules which we will look at in a separate article, but as the GUI released their 2019 fixtures over the weekend, let’s see what they have in store.
There are a number of items that jump out of the fixture list immediately, beginning with the Home International at Lahinch where they were previously played in 1987 when Ireland famously completed the “Triple Crown” with wins over England, Scotland & Wales.
It’s going to be an extremely busy year for the County Clare links dubbed the ‘St Andrews of Ireland’ which will also host the Irish Open and of course the South of Ireland championship.
The next stand out item on the 2019 fixture list is the West of Ireland Championship at Rosses Point and the reason that I have focused on this, is that the event will be a stroke-play championship for the first time-ever, since its inauguration in 1923.
Usually played over the Easter weekend, the championship is moving to a date in early April this year to allow a six-week resting period for the course which will host the Irish Amateur Championship in mid-May, but it is expected that the event will revert to its traditional match-play format and Easter date again for 2020.
In another new move by the GUI, all four provincial senior’s championships will have the age limit reduced from 55 to 50 keeping in line with professional golf where you become a “Senior” at the age of 50, however the Irish Seniors Championship will maintain the over 55 age limit.
The fourth item is the introduction of the Fred Perry Trophy which is a new inter-club fourball event for over 55’s.
Named after the recently deceased past President of the GUI, this new tournament is for a team of ten players (five pairings) all of whom must be over 55 on January 1st.
The big news, however, for 2019 in Kerry, is the return of the Irish Close championship to Ballybunion for the sixth time in the club’s history.
The North Kerry links last hosted the event in 1991 when Warrenpoint’s Gary McNeill (now the professional at Royal Portrush) beat Niall Goulding of Portmarnock and along the way there have been some well-known winners of the event at Ballybunion, beginning with the legendary Jimmy Bruen from Muskerry who beat Lahinch’s John Burke when the event first came to the North Kerry links and in fact the county, in 1937.
When the “Close” returned again in 1958, Co Sligo’s Cecil Ewing beat Lahinch’s Greg Young and thirteen years before the event returned again in 1971 to coincide with the re-routing of the course and the opening of the new clubhouse as Raymond Kane from the Island GC in Dublin beat Martin O’Brien from New Ross while Adare Manor’s Jackie Harrington beat Co Louth’s Mark Gannon when the event next came along in 1979.
In fact, Ballybunion and Killarney are the only two Kerry courses to have hosted this event and Killarney were the last Kerry club to do so in 1999 when Dunfanaghy’s Ciaran MacMonagle beat Michael Sinclair from Knock.
The previous occasion to that at Killarney was in 1983 when Ballybunion’s Tommy Corridan beat Tramore’s Eddie Power, while you have to go back twenty years to 1963 for Killarney’s only other hosting of the event when the legendary Joe Carr of Sutton beat Tullamore’s Eddie O’Brien.
Will it be another 20 years before Kerry sees a Close Championship? Hopefully not, and maybe the likes of Tralee, Waterville and Dooks should get a shot at hosting one, in the not too distant future.
Elsewhere on the GUI fixture list for 2019, Tralee will host the Munster Boys Under-14 championship in April, Killarney’s Killeen course will host the Munster Seniors Championship in June while in late October, Ballybunion’s Cashen course will play host to the Munster Boys Amateur Open.