A total of 13 Irish players are included in the field for the 115th Amateur Championship which gets underway next Monday June 14 at Muirfield & North Berwick Golf Clubs.

SUCH are the twists and turns of life that unheralded Skerries teenager Jeff Hopkins could easily be playing at centre half for the likes of Liverpool or Blackburn Rovers. Instead, a series of chronic injuries ended his dreams of a professional soccer career when he was just 14 years old.

ULSTER justified pre-tournament favouritism at Douglas yesterday when they defeated Leinster 7½-5½ on the final day of the Golfsure Interprovincial Championship to complete the grand slam and regain the title they last held in 2006.

Defending champions Leinster were held 6 ½ - 6 ½ by Munster on the second day of the Golfsure sponsored Interprovincial Championships at Douglas Golf Club, while Ulster beat Connacht by 9 ½ - 3 ½ .

A CHANCE round with Pádraig Harrington during the third round of the Irish PGA Championship at the European Club last month played a major part in Connor Doran’s victory in the Grant Thornton Mullingar Scratch Trophy.

TWENTY-ONE-YEAR-OLD Niall Kearney from Royal Dublin is the only Irish player in the British & Irish Walker Cup team to face the United States at Merrion, Pennsylvania, next month.

Portstewart's Paul Cutler gave his Walker Cup hopes a boost when he captured the East of Ireland Amateur Championship at Baltray.

IRISH stars Jonathan Caldwell and Shane Lowry played a key role in helping Great Britain and Ireland establish a comfortable first-day advantage against the Continent of Europe in the St Andrews Trophy match at Kingsbarns yesterday.

Ulster secured an impressive victory against Connacht in the Youths Interprovincial Matches at Donegal Golf Club today.

Walker Cup skipper Colin Dalgleish has hailed Holywood star Rory McIlroy as a similar talent to Spanish wonderkid Sergio Garcia.

Ireland v Canada, Junior International

Ireland and Canada are all square at Junior International competition at The Island Golf Club after today's play.

The team to represent Ireland in the Boys Home Internationals at Moray Golf Club, Lossiemouth, Scotland on August 8 - 10 has been announced today.