Amateurs get big chance as Faithlegg hosts Euro Pro Tour

IF THE three key ingredients of a successful Irish golf resort — the course, the lodgings and the cuisine — were thoroughly critiqued, few would tick all the boxes as emphatically as Faithlegg Golf Club in Waterford.

Thankfully, the facilities are about to win European exposure in the form of a visit from the continent’s up-and-coming professional golfers seeking a place on the 2008 PGA Euro Pro Tour.

The Tour comes to Faithlegg from May 19-23 and on the second day, May 20, local amateur golfers will have an unique chance to play alongside and pick up tips from the professionals, when teams of three will link up with one professional for the Pro-Am event. There are 45 team spaces up for grabs for this year’s event and demand is expected to hit a record high.

May 21 and 22 will see the 156 professionals play one round on each of the first two days, after which the leading 50 professionals and those tying for 50th place will go forward to play the third and final round. The course is open to the public at no charge from 7am to 7pm for viewing during the tournament.

The event last year saw the course record at Faithlegg being broken by England’s Robert McGuirk who shot a 64 on day two of the tournament, slashing the previous best by four shots, a marker which was set by Wexford man Damien McGrane in 2001.

The action at Faithlegg will be shown as a two-hour highlights programme on Sky Sports a week after the event, as well as being shown on the Golf Channel in the USA, Viasat in Scandinavia, ESPN Latin America and ESPN Star throughout Asia.

Faithlegg resident pros Ryan Hunt, Derry Kiely and Mark O’Brien are gearing up for the upcoming tour and ensuring the course is in tip-top condition.