Wishing you all the best for the Christmas season!
A year ago FORE Ireland set out to deliver a support framework for Irish professional golfers seeking a livelihood on the European Tour with a focus on providing ancillary services and advice that maybe required along the way. Over the past two seasons the objective was to better prepare players for the travails of European Tour School in order to ensure a higher success rate year on year.
Based on the results of this season – and indeed last year – this still remains work in progress as no Irish players earned tour cards for 2011.
Another commitment was to deliver reports on Irish golfers everywhere in the world on all Tours - men and ladies - in order to keep their achievements in the news, particularly those players funded by the Irish Sports Council. The feed back throughout the season on Facebook, Twitter, the Blog and websites shows that we have succeeded in that objective for the most part.
On the management side the current group of golfers has included Michael Collins, Ted Higgins Jnr, David Mortimer, Mark Staunton and Philip Walton and as we reflect on their achievements this season there are some positive milestones.
David Mortimer repeated his 2006 Irish PGA Championship win in 2010 when he beat Damien McGrane on the eighteenth at Seapoint Golf Club with a 40 foot eagle putt to cap a very successful year for the Connemara man. In August Mortimer also won the Glenmuir PGA Championship at The Oxfordshire to earn himself a start at the 2011 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, the Irish Open in Killarney next year and the PGA Cup next October in the California.
The final event of the year at Mount Juliet Mortimer tasted the other side of the game when he lost out in the three way chase on the last day with David Higgins and Damian Mooney – which was then followed by an uncharacteristic inconsistency during four days at Costa Ballena Golf Resort in Spain at Stage 2 of Q School to miss the cut for the final stage.
Michael Collins reached the European Tour Qualifying School Stage 2 in Jerez again this year on the foot of a storing year on the Irish PGA region with an important win at the 12th Greenore Challenge. Having qualified for the 3 Irish Open after an eighth place finish in the 2009 Order of Merit last season, Collins flavoured a European Tour event on home soil for the first time.
But like many of his fellow Irish pro's he failed to make the cut on his first attempt. However, with another eighth place finish in the Lexus Race to Mount Juliet in association with PING and Failte Ireland, Michael will return to the Irish Open next summer hoping to improve on his finish this year.
Mark Staunton participated in Stage 1 of 2010 Qualifying School in Scotland although he did not make it again this year despite showing a return to the form that saw him win the 2007 Irish PGA order of Merit. This year started with the Ballinasloe golfer breaking Brendan McGovern’s sixteen year old record at Foxrock Golf Club shooting a round of 63 and a few weeks later winning the Irish PGA Club Pro event at Dundalk Golf Club.
On the last day of the season however his 13th place finish at the Race to Mount Juliet saw him miss out on a place at the 2011 Irish Open by only 32 points making it a second season which he fails to play the national event.
Ted Higgins season was a tale of two halves where during the first part injury prevented him from playing a fuller schedule and his efforts saw him languish outside the top thirty spots in the Lexus Race to Mount Juliet. But a revival mid season with a third place at the Greenore Challenge, a second place at the Fred Daly - losing out to Simon Thornton and Damien McGrane - saw him comfortably qualify for the season finale event in October in Kilkenny in the end.
On his return to Mount Juliet, where he had worked for many years, Ted Higgins played target golf to lead the tournament on four under at the turn. However his cousin David Higgins proceeded to match the effort with a back nine of 6 under par and signing for a 65 saw him secure the event, along with the Lexus Race to Mount Juliet order of merit title for the second successive season.
Philip Walton's campaign to remain competitive this year saw him improve his order of merit finish from last year by 9 places in a year that also earned him an invite to the 3 Irish Open. The win at the PGA Sprint event on his home course at Dundrum House, with a three under par 69 in tough conditions, was one highlight even though it failed to trigger the same consistency of two years ago – when he finished second to 2008 in the Order of merit - Walton has enjoyed his golf more this year.
Having played the game at all levels - amateur and professional - the former World number 1 amateur and Oklahoma State graduate now awaits his time on the Senior circuit in 2012.
