Niall Horan has been given a lifetime membership to his local golf club.

Not content with an All-Ireland double title success, East Cork Golf Club lady president Catherine Coughlan has thrown down the gauntlet to the rest of the membership in the hunt for national recognition.

Major champions Darren Clarke, Pádraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy were fine-tuning their British Open preparations yesterday and so missed out on a special day at Mullingar Golf Club.

SEAMUS SMITH, General Secretary of the Golfing Union of Ireland, has welcomed confirmation that members of the country’s clubs will have the chance to play in this year’s 3 Irish Open pro-am at Killarney (Wednesday, July 28).