Killarney course set for biggest Challenge
Strongly supported by Fáilte Ireland, the tournament offers the opportunity to as many as 32 Irish professionals to progress their careers through the Challenge Tour, while six amateurs also have the chance to test their abilities.
Lackabane is the third course at Killarney Golf Club and has developed over the past few years into a very worthy layout.
Indeed, with the Killeen Course undergoing a revamp, it has proven a godsend to the famous Kerry club. The signature hole is probably the 549-yard par five 11th, with water a constant factor, while the 449-yard 18th will prove a demanding and crucial closing challenge.
The prospects for a home winner rest with David Higgins from nearby Waterville and Belfast’s former British Amateur champion Michael Hoey. They stand second and 10th respectively in the order of merit.
After a flying start to the 2005 campaign in Central America, where Hoey racked up three top-five finishes in six events, the 26-year-old has enlisted the help of friend Ryan McGuigan as caddie.
Hoey has totalled 45,015 this year and puts his faith in McGuigan, the man who helped him to second place at last Sunday’s Texbond Open in Italy.
“It’s good to have someone you know on the bag,” he says.
“I decided to take a caddie on full time after starting the season well and I had a bit of cash to spare. Not many players on the Challenge Tour have caddies so I think it has given me a wee bit of an advantage.”
Victory, or a top-three finish, would take Hoey to within touching distance of the top 20 who gain priceless Tour cards at the end of the season.
He is determined to secure his first professional win, having gone so close in Italy, where he carried a three-shot lead into the final round.
“It was disappointing not to win in Italy, but I will take the positives from it,” Hoey said.
“Fredrik Widmark played great to shoot six under to win on the last day, and it was nice to see my game can be at that kind of level over four rounds. I think I am ready to move up from the Challenge Tour and hopefully I can show that over the rest of the season”.
Higgins graduated the Challenge Tour in second place after three wins in 2000, and is second on the 2005 rankings, with his return to the main circuit already assured for 2006.
He will have home support at Killarney, although that can impose added pressure.
He is delighted to see the first fully sanctioned Challenge Tour event in the Republic of Ireland.
He said: “It’s fantastic to see the Challenge Tour in Ireland. I think it will be a success because you are almost guaranteed good crowds, as the people will always get out to support the local lads who will be playing and I think, with the Ryder Cup coming next year, golf in Ireland is more popular than ever.
"There are a lot of young golfers in Ireland who will benefit greatly from getting the chance to play in a Challenge Tour event.
“It allows them to see exactly what is required to play at this level and offers them experience of playing at a pretty high standard of golf.”
The Irish players in the Killarney field are Peter Williamson, Noel Fox, Justin Kehoe, Eamonn Brady, Keith Coveney, Mark Murphy, Damian Mooney, Daniel Sugrue, Conor Mallon, Padraig Dooley, Sean Quinlivan, Kevin Morris, Gavin McNeill, Michael Collins, Shane Franklin, Ciaran McMonagle, Jimmy Bolger, John Dwyer, Leslie Walker, Robert Giles, John Murray, David Mortimer, Peter Martin, Raymond Burns, Michael McDermott, Johnny Foster, David P Jones, Graham Spring, David Higgins, Michael Hoey, Colm Moriarty, Tim Rice and amateurs Aaron O’Callaghan, Mervyn Owens, Greg Bowden, Aengus McAllister, Mark O’Sullivan and Mark Campbell.
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