O’Callaghan among strong Irish entry for British Amateur

AARON O’CALLAGHAN, winner of this year’s Irish Examiner Junior Sports Star award for golf, is one of a number of entries for the British Amateur Championship beginning at St Andrews on Monday.

Eight of the Irish team that captured the Home International Championship at Ballybunion last September have also entered. They include European champion Brian McElhinney and his North West clubmate Michael McGeady, Irish Close champion Mark O’Sullivan, (Galway), South of Ireland champion Mervyn Owens (Mallow), Darren Crowe of Dunmurry, Mark Campbell (Stackstown), Noel Fox, (Portmarnock) and Johnny Foster (Ballyclare).

Also seeking a title that last came to Ireland in 1985 when Garth McGimpsey triumphed at Royal Dornoch is Gareth Maybin (Ballyclare), one of the top golfers on the US collegiate scene, Sean McTernan, the 2002 South of Ireland finalist from Co Sligo, Des Morgan of Mullingar and Kevin Moore (Douglas).

There is a higher than expected Irish involvement in terms of both quality and quantity due in some measure to the popularity of the venue.

The qualifying rounds on Monday and Tuesday take place over both the Old and Jubilee Courses with the leading 64 going through to the matchplay stages.

The great Joe Carr won one of his three Amateur Championships at St Andrews in 1958.

Meanwhile, the Irish Close Championship goes ahead over the Murvagh links on Donegal Bay for the first time on June 19-23.

The course was already one of the longest in the country when the club decided to reconstruct several features with a view to providing the worthiest test possible.

It can be stretched to 7,400 yards and whether that is a good thing given how the amateurs struggled in the recent Irish Open strokeplay is a matter of opinion.

In any case, Noel Fox, who missed the cut at Carton House, will be among those trying to atone at Murvagh.

He is joined by a number of internationals, including the holder Mark O’Sullivan, last year’s defeated finalist David Carroll, Gareth Maybin, Michael McGeady, Brian McElhinney, Michael Sinclair, Darren Crowe and Mervyn Owens along with youngsters Clancy Bowe from Tramore, Aaron O’Callaghan and West of Ireland champion Paul McDonald.