The Sligo Champion

West of Ireland Championsh­ip golf preview

- LEO GRAY

IT CELEBRATES it’s 90th anniversar­y this year and the enduring appeal of the West of Ireland Open Amateur Golf Championsh­ip continues to hold a special place in Sligo’s sporting landscape.

A tournament which was first won by Larry Vernon from South Africa way back in 1923, and boasts such legendary figures as Cecil Ewing, Joe Carr, Padraig Harrington, Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy on its roll of honour, is rightly regarded as one of the most celebrated Championsh­ips on the Irish amateur scene.

Providing a seasonal economic spin-off for the local economy, the tournament has been synonymous with Easter in Rosses Point for ninety years and all the indication­s are that the battle for the ultimate prize this year will live up to the Championsh­ip’s illustriou­s past.

With a 0.0 handicap cut off mark and a field of 123 top class players, the ‘West’ is sure to produce excitement, tension and drama in equal measure over a week-end of intense competitio­n at the famous Co. Sligo links.

There’s a slight but important change to the format this year with the introducti­on of a prequalify­ing round for the first time ever.

This takes place tomorrow (Wednesday) and will see eighty-one players battling it out for three places in the tournament proper which begins on Good Friday. With the clocks going forward on Easter Saturday, the Championsh­ip will have 56 minutes less daylight

hours than usual on Friday and Saturday and this has meant that the field has had to be restricted to 123 competitor­s, fifteen less than last year. But there will be no shortage of quality with the top amateurs from Ireland and overseas converging on Rosses Point in pursuit of the cherished Championsh­ip trophy.

Reeve Whitson from County Down carries the burden of favouritis­m after an outstandin­g performanc­e for Ireland in the Nations Cup tournament in Spain recently.

And other members of the national team such as Rory McNamara, Dermot McElroy, Richard O’Donavan and Gavin Moynihan will also be expected to be among the main challenger­s for outright glory.

Last year’s winner, Harry Diamond, Belvoir Park, will be back to defend his crown, aiming to become the first player since Rory McIlroy in 2005 and 2006, to win back-to-back West titles.

Indeed, Belfast-born Diamond and McIlroy are close friends so nothing would give the Belvoir Park player more pleasure than to follow in the illustriou­s footsteps of his fellow Ulsterman.

Diamond beat Stephen Healy from Claremorri­s by one hole in a tight and tense final in 2012 and the Mayoman will be hoping to go one step further this year and keep the coveted title in the West of Ireland.

Simon Ward from County Louth, who lost to Diamond in last year’s semi-final, is another serious contender.

David Corsby from Royal Lytham brought the title back to the UK in 2009 and there are plenty of British players with genuine chances in this year’s line-up.

Robbie Busher, Salisbury, won a major tournament in the Algarve recently and a repeat of that form would make him a strong contender while Henry Feathersto­n, Ringway, and James McCormick, Styal GC, also come with big reputation­s. Brothers, Thomas and Samuel Sloman from Thornton, whose father resided in Sligo some years ago, are also in the field and will be hoping to do well.

Daryl Callister from the Isle of Man is another overseas competitio­r with genuine prospects of taking a few major scalps along the way.

Closer to home, local Leaving Cert student, Sean Flanagan, will have the honour of being first out on the course on Friday morning (7am) along with Enda Craddock (Gort/NUIG) and Ronan Mullarney (Galway)

The teenager stole the limelight on the opening days of last year’s Championsh­ip, narrowly making the cut from the qualifying rounds before disposing of Jack Pierse (Grange) and Eoin Arthurs (Forrest Little) in the match play stages. His fairytale run ended when he lost to Rory McNamara, a former member of Co. Sligo.

Now Flanagan is back for another crack at the ‘West’ and will be hoping for a similar experience to last year.

Gary McDermott, a ‘ West’ regular with an impressive record in the tournament - he reached the semi-final two years ago - is another leading local hope while Stephen Brady and Barry Anderson will also fly the Sligo flag with distinctio­n.

But perhaps the best hopes of ending the long wait for a local winner rest with Stefan O’Hara who has shown he’s got the mental toughness to win tournament­s of this kind by capturing the Munster Youth Championsh­ip in 2011 and the Ulster Youth championsh­ip last year.

Tournament director, Enda Lonergan, is antipating another enthrallin­g tournament, starting with the pre-qualifying round on Wednesday and continuing right up to the semi-finals and finals next Tuesday.

“The ‘West’ has a magic all of its own”, he says. It’s been around a long time but it never loses its appeal. The Championsh­ip is always capable of throwing up the odd surprise but the overall quality is reflected in the names of the legendary figures on the roll of honour.

“I have no doubt that this year’s Championsh­ip will be as exciting as ever and there will be plenty of drama before the destinatio­n of the 2013 title is decided

next Tuesday”

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 ??  ?? ■ Reigning West of Ireland Champion, Harry Diamond, Belvoir Park, Belfast, will be back to defend his title this weekend.
■ Reigning West of Ireland Champion, Harry Diamond, Belvoir Park, Belfast, will be back to defend his title this weekend.
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 ??  ?? ■ Dermot McElroy, Ballymena, a leading contender for West of Ireland glory at Rosses Point this weekend. BELOW: Last year’s beaten semi-finalist Rory McNamara will be hoping to go a stage further in this week-end’s West of Ireland Championsh­ip.
■ Dermot McElroy, Ballymena, a leading contender for West of Ireland glory at Rosses Point this weekend. BELOW: Last year’s beaten semi-finalist Rory McNamara will be hoping to go a stage further in this week-end’s West of Ireland Championsh­ip.

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