McElroy faces toughest challenge yet at Hillside

DERMOT McELROY, one of the rising stars of Irish golf who has produced some stunning displays in the past year, steps onto the biggest stage of all today to compete with the top world players in the 116th British Amateur Championship.

McElroy reached the quarter-finals of the 2010 British Boys Championship and played for Great Britain and Ireland in the Jacques Leglise Trophy match — and now has his sights set on a good run in the Amateur on two of England’s finest links courses, Hillside and Hesketh.

In the first qualifying round at Hillside this morning, McElroy plays alongside South African Jared Harvey and Italian Emmanuelle Sesia and then they move to Hesketh tomorrow to complete the qualifying phase.