Henrik Stenson
At European Tour Qualifying School last year Ireland had 6 representatives at the final Stage Three Qualifying played at the PGA Catalunya in Girona - 10 players failed to progress to the season finale. In a year which had seen the game boosted by the arrival of Rory Mcilroy into the World Top Ten alongside Graeme McDowell and Padraig Harrington the expectations at Qualifying School were high..
On the final day though on the Third stage the Irish players battled it out and the group included Niall Kearney, winner of the Brabazon Trophy won last year and member of the 2009 Walker Cup team; Simon Thornton, a former Assistant Professional at Royal County Down; Gary Murphy, seeking to regain his card ten years after first securing playing rights; and John Kelly, a protégé of Padraig Harrington and the TItleist Performance Center.
In the end only Thornton and Murphy were amongst the final thirty places on offer for the 2010 season with the Newcastle County Down based professional, Thornton, the only new Irish European Tour professional – albeit born in England.
In Ireland there are over four hundred registered golf clubs and in excess of two hundred and fifty thousand registered players reflecting close to six percent of the population active in golf. In Spain with a population of 47 million the active golfers are less than one percent with over 345 clubs and three hundred and fifty thousand registered players.
In Sweden there are 576,000 registered golfers with a total of 482 golf courses and a population of nearly nine and half million. The more interesting statistic though that is Junior golf in the UK & Ireland account for approximately 9% of the total number of members based on 2007 figures. Some countries appear to have more success in attracting juniors to the game, for example Sweden where just under 15% of the registered golfing population are juniors.
If that in itself was not enough Ryder Cup star and European Tour champion Henrik Stenson launched The Princess event last year on the Challenge Tour and backed it again this year as he looks to give the next generation of Swedes a platform from which to build successful playing careers.
Stenson won the European Challenge Tour Rankings in 2000, winning three times including the Gula Sidorna Grand Prix in his homeland.
In terms of Tour School this season and the merging talent in Ireland this has to be a major challenge.
Indeed the event the week before the Irish Open was in Bro Hoff Slott near Stockholm in Sweden with the local PGA entering the standard eight invites to the Nordea Scandinavian Masters from their 2009 Regional Order of Merit. Three of those players making the cut on the Friday and the Order of Merit winner, Richard S. Johnson, winning his national event with Anders Sjöstrand finishing 14th and Wilhelm Schaumman in 31st place.
Eleven other players made the cut as well, in a group that included Robert Karlsson, Frederik Hed Andersson, Magnus Carlsson, Peter Hanson, Mikael Kundberg, Niclas Fasth, Steven Jeppesen, Michael Jonzon and Patrik Sjöland.
Seventeen other Swedish players competed but failed to make the weekend stay including five amateurs.
In contrast at the 3 Irish Open In Killarney there were no fairy tales either as many of the aspiring Irish PGA Region players experienced the difference in intensity and one by one succumbed to the competitive demands of the European Tour - and the challenges of the Killeen Course. With the exception of Barrie Trainor of Team Ireland who just made the cut at level par having dropped back from a score of four under at the turn on the Friday.
With Irish Golf flying high with the achievements of Graeme McDowell winning the US Open; 3 time Major Winner Padraig Harrington; 2009 3 Irish Open winner Shane Lowry; Quail Hollow winner, Rory McIlroy, along with 2010 Ryder Cup Vice Captain’s Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley it was little surprise that these established players made the cut. Indeed, Lowry’s 65 was the most impressive score on Friday given he was 3 over after day one and looking under pressure to defend his title showed his metal just over a year after turning professional.
Also in the mix at the top level is Damien McGrane who this season has threatened more r victories with an outstanding performance also from Ballymoney's Michael Hoey who finished 7th overall.
The other Team Ireland member Colm Moriarty missed the weekend after carding a second round 74 - to finish five over par - which was a disappointment given his finish at St Andrews of one under after making it through Final Qualifying in impressive fashion.
2009 Irish PGA Order of Merit winner, David Higgins, found the going tough at Killarney missing the cut on two over par and returned to his day job in the Irish Region where the Waterville man currently leads the 2010 Lexus Race to Mount Juliet Order of Merit. This season though the gulf in standard became more apparent for Higgins as he has under performed at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in May; missed out on qualifying for The Open in St. Andrew’s and missed the cut at the 3 Irish Open.
Best result of the region was from Damien Mooney with one over par - after rounds of 72 and 71 - which at the outset might have been deemed an acceptable target for the first two days and perhaps sufficient to make the cut. It would have been good enough at an Irish PGA Region event but in the big time - and faced with the blistering pace of Ross Fisher on Friday when he set a course record of 61 – Mooney’s score was by no means enough to earn a stay for the weekend.
More seasoned talent like Gareth Maybin saw a three under par score evaporate on the finishing holes on day one, with a similar experience on Friday, to slip one over par missing the cut, in what in overall terms, has been a good season for the Ballyclare man. His second place in the Ballantine's Championship in Korea ensures his playing rights for next year and one feels he should be playing without pressure. However having qualified for the US Open Maybin missed the cut and did the same at The Open Championship.
Peter Lawrie similarly fell the wrong side of the cut with a bogey finish in round two which started his troubles as he went on to drop two more shots on Friday to finish on three over par – also missing out on the weekend.
European Tour Rookie, Simon Thornton of Team Ireland, was unhappy with his round of 71 and on Friday he responded by reached the turn on 33 after birdies on holes 2 and 5 only to see those shots given back to the course on the 11th hole with a double bogey, along with three more on the eighteenth to finish with a 74 - on 3 over par.
Amateurs Cian Curley, Pat Murray, Alan Dunbar and Paul Cutler fared well under the conditions and had Cutler been more accurate on the greens he deserved to have been inside the cut. But that appears to be a weakness in his game – at least at this level – or at least on the bumpy Killeen Course greens.
Paul T Martin ended the two rounds with a 74 and 76 for a seven over par total.
Local Professional Daniel Sugrue battled well despite his late nomination working hard to recover some wayward tee shots to good effect on Thursday and the early part of Friday. But in the end even local knowledge could not help him as he completed the back nine in 42 shots to finish on 8 over.
John Kelly of St. Margaret’s, who also qualified as part of the top 8 finishers in the 2009 Irish PGA Order of Merit, came in on Friday evening nine shots over the level par cut after dropping three on Friday on the 8th, 13th and 17th holes.
Michael Collins of FORE Ireland finished Thursday with three consecutive birdies on 16, 17 and 18 with the aim of improving on his first round 79 – most of which was due to nerves as he played a European Tour event for the first time. His round of 73 on Friday was a credit to the experience gained on Thursday leaving him on a 10 over par total but still twenty two shots off the leading score at the close of play in Round 2.
Gary Murphy who also made the event as a result of a Sponsors’ invite continued his indifferent form this season by adding another missed cut after rounds of 74 and 78 – finishing the back nine on Friday in 44 shots alone.
David E Ryan ended his two day experience at the 3 Irish Open on 11 over par after rounds of 74 and 77.
Gary David Cullen ended his few days at Killarney with a 12 over par score having dropped six shots each of the rounds with only three birdies over the two rounds.
For 1995 Ryder Cup winner, Philip Walton, the step back into the European Tour was disappointing and unprofitable despite some intense preparation this season in the hope of a Sponsors Invite. Again the switch from the week to week of Irish PGA bore little resemblance to the main Tour and despite some good iron play and solid drives off the tee box the undulating greens took their toll on the Malahide man over both days.
For Barrie Trainor making the cut was the reward for some good play over the two days and given he was the odd number he played the Saturday and Sunday rounds with markers - Gary David Cullen the first day and Danny Sugrue on the Sunday. The experience though was rewarded with the 78th Ulster PGA Championship at Lough Erne last week – which Trainor won after a play off.
At the end of the 3 Irish Open Barrie Trainor can reflect on a 66th place and the result of four rounds - 69, 73,77, 71 – in which only one round troubled his scorecard. Having missed the cut at a few EUROPRO Tour events this season Trainor will now undoubtedly have greater focus on Qualifying school after a real taste of the European Tour.
Let’s hope that there are not too many Swedish players looking for Tour cards this year.
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© FORE Ireland
