Campbell and Ross win inaugural Ulster Stroke Play Championship
Colm Campbell and Jessica Ross, winners of the Ulster Stroke Play Championship at Galgorm Castle. Picture: Golffile
Warrenpoint’s Colm Campbell and Jessica Ross from Clandeboye won the inaugural staging of the Ulster Stroke Play Championship at Galgorm Castle and spots in the Challenge Tour’s innovative ISPS Handa World Invitational in August.
Ross (24) blew the field away. winning by 12 strokes from Lurgan’s Maeve Cummins on level par as seasoned campaigner Campbell, who has spent the last two years fighting his way back to fitness following a hand injury, won his first championship since the 2016 Flogas Irish Amateur Open, winning by two strokes on four-under par from Carton House’s Marc Boucher.
“It’s been tough. I’ve had a really tough 2018 and I struggled with the injuries as most people know and then I lost my grandad as well on top of that who was a big supporter of me and this one is for him,” said Campbell, who also won the East of Ireland title in 2014.
“I always said the first if I was lucky enough to win another championship I would dedicate this to him and I know he would be very proud. It’s been a tough road and I’m glad to be back playing and it was nice to get a win under the belt.”
Off a plus-four handicap, Ross makes the trip to St Andrews for the St Rule Trophy later this week and the chemical engineer is hoping to find the winning formula again.
“I’ve started working full time as a chemical engineer so I guess I’ll just play as good as I can and try and get another win,” she said. “I’ll just take every event as it comes.”
Both Campbell and Ross pick up invitations to the European Challenge Tour’s newest event, the ISPS Handa World Invitational for men and women, which will be played at Massereene and Galgorm Castle in August.
“I’m delighted. I’ve never played a professional event before so it will be cool to see how your game matches up with the world’s best.,” Ross said.
Campbell is no a stranger to playing in professional events and is excited by the prospect of both men and women teeing it up at Galgorm in the professional tournament.
“I’m really excited to play in it,” he said. “That’s one of the main reasons I came here and teed it up this week.
“It’s brilliant, especially for the ladies’ game. They play to an exceptional standard. I think it’s only right and it’s great to see and it’s great to see Galgorm is on board with it as well.”
Boucher, Malone’s Matthew McClean, Cummins and Ballinrobe’s Shannon Burke will also be teeing it up with the professionals following their second and third place finishes.
This week’s event marked the first time that the GUI and ILGU have hosted senior men's and women's championships simultaneously at the same venue.
Ulster Stroke Play Championship, Galgorm Castle & Massereene
Men
284 C Campbell Jnr (Warrenpoint) 69 73 72 70;
286 M Boucher (Carton House) 75 71 70 70;
289 M McClean (Malone Golf Club) 71 72 73 73;
292 W Small (Tandragee) 73 71 73 75;
293 J Temple (Portmarnock) 75 76 70 72, M McKinstry (Cairndhu) 72 73 75 73, R Brazill (Naas) 71 72 76 74;
295 J Hood (Galgorm Castle) 74 76 70 75;
296 H O'Hare (Fortwilliam) 72 73 78 73;
297 P Conroy (Enniscorthy) 76 73 72 76, T Dowdall (Woodbrook) 76 72 77 72;
298 T McLarnon (Massereene) 76 71 76 75;
299 E O'Brien (Clontarf) 74 74 74 77, R Griffin (Letterkenny) 71 73 78 77;
302 D Turkington (Massereene) 76 80 70 76;
303 J McVicker (Knock ) 77 71 77 78;
304 B Smyth (Howth) 75 76 81 72, C Nolan (Galway) 74 76 81 73;
305 S Barker (Mourne) 80 72 76 77, R Dutton (Tandragee) 78 72 74 81;
307 R McCrory (Lurgan) 74 76 80 77;
235 R Nelson (Belvoir Park) 75 76 84;
308 J Logue (Hilton Templepatrick) 81 78 72 77, D Jackson (Massereene) 76 82 74 76, J Sutherland (Galgorm Castle) 73 74 77 84;
310 R O'Connor (Co. Sligo) 77 81 81 71, W Eickholt (Portmarnock) 76 80 77 77, J Cleary (Elm Park) 72 77 83 78;
313 R McCrudden (Royal Portrush) 74 79 83 77, J Rowe (Tandragee) 74 74 79 86;
314 L Abom (Edmondstown) 77 79 76 82;
315 H Foley (Royal Dublin) 78 77 78 82;
318 J Hyland (Omagh) 77 82 80 79, A Lennie (Clandeboye) 77 79 78 84, J Tuohy (Galway Bay) 75 83 81 79;
NR M Reid (Galgorm Castle) 74 81 71, S McConnell (Ballyclare) 79 79, C Stone (Carton House) 75 75;
NS D Cunningham (Tandragee) 77 78;
MC I Scott (Massereene) 83 77, R Lyons (Olympic Club) 83 77, S Greenberg (Tandragee) 78 82, K Lynch (Skibbereen) 77 83, I Witherspoon (Ballyclare) 85 76, G McGrotty (Portstewart) 82 80, P Cunnane (Malone) 84 83, G Arthur (Carrickfergus) 86 82, M Nicholson (Antrim) 91 79, J Hall (Greenacres) 90 87;
RTD R Clarke (The Island), J Doherty (Carton House), J Hayden (Royal Dublin), J KNIPE (Royal Portrush ), C Woodroofe (Dun Laoghaire), R Black (Hilton Templepatrick), M McKenna (Dun Laoghaire).
Women
296 J Ross (Clandeboye) 76 73 71 76;
308 M Cummins (Lurgan) 77 76 77 78;
311 S Burke (Ballinrobe) 77 80 78 76;
321 R Gardner (Carnalea) 84 82 78 77;
323 R Thompson (Cork) 84 77 85 77, K Poots (Knock) 82 80 80 81;
327 M O'Hara (Clandeboye) 80 83 81 83;
332 N Ward (Lurgan) 80 85 83 84;
MC A Thompson (Cork ) 85 84, J O'Driscoll (Muskerry) 86 84, T Laverty (Royal Portrush ) 85 86, H Hall (Enniscrone) 85 86, J Rouse (Strabane) 87 89, C McGonagle (Portsalon) 92 86.
