Players braced for Close examination at Rosapenna's Sandy Hills Links
Reigning South of Ireland champion Sean Desmond in action during practice for the AIG Men’s Irish Close Championship at Rosapenna (Sandy Hills) on Thursday. Credit: GUI
Winning your first "Major" is the dream of every top amateur and the Sandy Hills Links at the stunning Rosapenna Hotel and Golf Resort will identify a top-class winner in the AIG Irish Amateur Close this weekend.
The Championship is a 54-hole strokeplay affair this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic with a 90-strong field bracing itself to do battle with Pat Ruddy's 7,255-yard test with winds forecast to gust to 36 mph for today's opening round.
"It's very tricky," said Carton House international Keith Egan, who was the runner-up in last year's South of Ireland Championship at Lahinch. "You really have to control you ball off the tee. Once you can do that, it's all down to your iron play.
"So it's all about placement off the tee, but it's tough. It looks like it's going to be very windy over the next few days, so it's going to be a tough test."
Egan and clubmates Darragh Flynn, Marc Boucher and Eoin Sullivan helped Carton House retain the Leinster title in the AIG Senior Cup last week, and one of them is likely to be involved in the battle for the blue riband of Irish golf.
"I'm feeling good," Egan said. "I feel like I am getting sharp right around now, so it will be interesting to see how I can control my game around this course.
"It is not about who is the best ball-striker or the best player, but who manages their game the best."
Dubai Duty Irish Open heroes James Sugrue and Mark Power are notable absentees -- Sugrue is making sure he avoids any potential Covid-19 threats as he counts down to the Masters next month while the Kilkenny star has college exams and assignments.
But a top-quality field has assembled in Donegal with Boucher the leading entrant off plus 4.6 ahead of Munster Strokeplay champion Rowan Lester (+4.2) of Hermitage, Royal Dublin's Hugh Foley (+3.6) and Egan (+3.5).
Several players have experience around the links in the Rosapenna Senior Scratch Cup with three-time winner Eddie McCormack and Malone's Matthew McClean, the winner by nine strokes last year, two players to watch.
Joining Major champions Rory McIlroy, Pádraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Shane Lowry on the list of champions is motivation enough for the rest of the field.
But there is also the added incentive of a place in the first Golf Ireland High Performance Panel for 2021 for the top three players in the Bridgestone Order of Merit.
As the final event of the season, the "Close" will decide who wins that race with long time leader Alan Fahy the favourite to get over the line.
The Dun Laoghaire star holds a significant 60 point advantage over Galway's Liam Nolan, but with 130 points awarded to this week's champion, much can change.
Boucher and Egan will hope to get their hands on a national title from fourth and tied-fifth in the rankings respectively while Thurles' Aaron Ryan will look to go one place better than the tied-second result he enjoyed at the Munster Stroke Play.
Newlands' Jake Whelan, who showed winning form when skating to a resounding five-shot success at the Dundalk Scratch Cup last month, is the last man in the running to claim this year's Bridgestone Order of Merit crown.
Tee-times (at 1510 on Thursday)
08:30 James Hewitt (Tandragee) Ian Lynch (Rosslare) Robert Galligan (Elm Park)
08:41 Marc Nolan (Dun Laoghaire) Robbie Hynes (Royal Dublin) David Shiel (Powerscourt)
08:52 Ryan Griffin (Ballybofey & Stranorlar) Paraic McGrath (Cregmore Park) Cathal Butler (Kinsale)
09:03 Eoghan O'Donnell (Tralee) Niall Hearns (Mountrath) Richard McCrudden (Royal Portrush)
09:14 Andrew McCormack (Castletroy) Jack Shellard (Lisburn) Paul Buckley (Cork)
09:25 Conor Ryan (Dun Laoghaire) Andrew Mullholland (Castlerock) David Jnr Marshall (Naas)
09:36 Keith Murphy (Dun Laoghaire) Fergal O'Sullivan (Tralee) Eoin Murphy (Dundalk)
09:47 Andrew Hickey (Galway Bay) Eoin Sullivan (Carton House) Jamie Kelly (Ardee)
09:58 Ruairi O'Connor (Co. Sligo) Keelan McCarthy (Lee Valley) Joshua Hill (Galgorm Castle)
10:09 Fionn Hickey (Muskerry) Cathal Nolan (Portmarnock) Peter McKeever (Castle)
10:20 Evan Shipp (Headfort) Simon Walker (Roscommon) Harry Gillivan (Westport)
10:31 Paul Conroy (Enniscorthy) Conor Hickey (Dooks) Dean O'Riordan (Fermoy)
10:42 David Kitt (Athenry) Thomas Hackett (Royal Dublin) Daniel Mulligan (The Links Portmarnock)
10:53 Jonathan Keane (Lahinch) Joe Lyons (Galway) Luke Lynch (Naas)
11:04 Gary Cullen (The Links Portmarnock) Richard Knightly (Royal Dublin) Cian Geraghty (Laytown & Bettystown)
11:26 Kyle McCarron (North West) Darcy Hogg (Belvoir Park) Jack McDonnell (Forrest Little)
11:37 Eddie McCormack (Galway) Daniel Holland (Castle) Mel Deasy (Lee Valley)
11:48 Thomas Higgins (Roscommon) Patrick Keeling (Roganstown) Karl Murray (Arklow)
11:59 Evan Farrell (Ardee) Kealan Quigg (Ballyliffin) Joseph Byrne (Baltinglass)
12:10 Robert Abernethy (Dun Laoghaire) Sean Desmond (Monkstown) Harry Duggan (Kilkenny)
12:21 Jake Whelan (Newlands) Keith Egan (Carton House) Rowan Lester (Hermitage)
12:32 Gavin Rochford (Bray) Aaron Ryan (Thurles) Marc Boucher (Carton House)
12:43 Liam Nolan (Galway) Thomas Neenan (Lahinch) Alan Fahy (Dun Laoghaire)
12:54 Gary Ward (Kinsale) Adam Smith (Mullingar) Hugh Foley (Royal Dublin)
13:05 Darragh Flynn (Carton House) Greg O'Mahony (Fota Island) Sean Downes (Royal Dublin)
13:16 Michael Flanagan (Portumna) Scott Jones (Belvoir Park) David Brady (Co. Sligo)
13:27 Gareth Lappin (Belvoir Park) James Temple (Portmarnock) Robert Moran (Castle)
13:38 Aaron Marshall (Lisburn) Shane O'Connor (Castlebar) Dylan Keating (Seapoint)
13:49 David McAleenon (Edenmore) John Cleary (Elm Park) Ciaran Dunphy (Killeen Castle)
14:00 Matthew McClean (Malone) Rory Milne (Faithlegg) Sam Murphy (Portumna)
