Bowe added to Walker Cup elite squad

CLANCY BOWE of Tramore is one of eight young players added to the British & Irish Walker Cup elite squad preparing for the defence of the trophy against the USA at Ganton, Yorkshire, on September 6-7.

Bowe has yet to represent Ireland at senior level but Walker Cup captain Garth McGimpsey has seen enough to convince him of the Tramore lad’s considerable potential.

“We have a very exciting group of young golfers coming through and we believe that any one of them could take a step forward to compete for a place in the team,” said the Ulsterman.

Colm Moriarty (Athlone) and Noel Fox (Portmarnock) were original choices on the panel. Gavin McNeill of Waterford and Graham McDowell (Rathmore) were also included but have since turned professional.

Venues and dates for the major GUI championships this year include, Irish Amateur Open, Royal Dublin, May 9-11; Irish Seniors Open, Mullingar, June 5-6; Irish Close, Tramore, June 14-18; Irish Youths, Douglas, June 26-27; Irish Boys, Hermitage, August 20-22; Walker Cup, Ganton, September 6-7; Bulmers Irish Cups and Shields finals, Lisburn, September 11-13; Home Internationals, Ballybunion, September 17-19; Youth Interprovincials, Lahinch, September 24-26; Seniors Home Internationals, Seaton Carew, September 30-October 2; Metropolitan Golf Association v Ireland, Quaker Ridge, New York, October 7-9.

Meanwhile, Vijay Singh’s victory in the Phoenix Open at the weekend has seen him move up to fourth place in the world rankings. Ireland’s Padraig Harrington remains in 8th spot with Darren Clarke 26th and Paul McGinley 99th.

Tiger Woods, of course, is still way out in front in spite of his current lay-off after knee surgery. However, the signs are that he will be back in action in less than a month and will certainly be competitive by the time the defence of his Masters title comes round in April.\par

“The rehab is on schedule and I hope to be hitting all clubs by next week,” he says. “The doctors are limiting me to a hundred balls a day which is frustrating because it’s difficult to work out my flaws. The good news is that for the first time in nearly a year, my knee is pain free.”

Padraig Harrington remains leader of the European Tour order of merit although his lead over man in form, South Africa’s Trevor Immelman, has been reduced to a little over 4,000.

Harrington returns to competitive action in the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur next month.