Tour card the focus at Fota
THE goal of a European Challenge Tour card will be the incentive for most of the PGA EuroPro Tour field at Fota Island today when some of Ireland and Britain’s brightest and most ambitious talents play their opening rounds at the Audi Cork Irish Masters.
Professional tournament play returns to the venue a decade on from its staging of the first Irish Open to great acclaim in 2001 on the original Deerpark layout when the Belvelly course comes into play for the 54-hole strokeplay event on European golf’s third-tier tour.
With a chance to play on the second-tier Challenge Tour via a top-five finish on the EuroPro Order of Merit after 15 events in 2011, the £10,000 (€11,131) winner’s cheque on offer this week can be a big boost to players’ chances of promotion. It was the tried and tested route to the golfing big-time taken by Open champion Louis Oosthuizen and Irish Open winners Ross Fisher and Richard Finch, amongst others.
Chris Hanson currently tops the Order of Merit having displaced fellow Yorkshire man Graeme Clark after last week’s Galgorm Castle Northern Ireland Open saw the duo contest a play-off, which Hanson won on the second hole.
Both will be in contention at Fota this week, alongside a healthy Irish contingent featuring Cork Golf Club’s Steven Hackett, who was third at Galgorm, helping him jump to 13th in the Order of Merit, two places ahead of Limerick’s Tim Rice. Also expected to contend are Muskerry’s Niall Turner, an Asian Tour regular, and experienced pros David Higgins (Waterville) and Damien Mooney.
Clark believes this week’s tournament is no two-horse race. “We’re from the same area and we seem to be pushing each other along,” Clark said of he and Hanson. “We need a few more good weeks to be all right for the top five.
“But it’s fairly open, there’s probably 30 guys out there capable of winning.”
Clark is raring to go having been impressed with the par-72 Belvelly layout from his practice round on Monday.
“I can’t wait for this week. It’s a fantastic place, one of the best courses we’ve been to all year.
“My game’s in good shape at the minute, I’m playing well and I’ve just got to keep it going now.
“The Challenge Tour card is the aim for the year, so I’ve just to keep going as I am now, keep playing well.”
The Curragh’s Paul O’Hanlon has probably been Ireland’s most consistent player on the EuroPro Tour over the past two seasons with three top-five finishes and the 26-year-old Team Ireland grant player should be set to contend.
“This is my first time playing it, surprisingly enough, but I’ve been very impressed by the facilities and the golf course. It’s beautiful,” O’Hanlon said. “This is by far the best I’ve played (on the tour). Galgorm last week was very good but this is slightly better again and the short game (practice) area, the long game area and the course itself are really nice. There are so many demanding shots but it’s a really good golf course.”
Fota Island Resort director of golf Kevin Morris was also predicting an exciting event this week.
“There are a lot of very good young players coming through on this tour and they can all play,” Morris said.
“The guys who win on any tour fit in on the next tour up. So if you can win on this tour, or the Challenge Tour, they fit in when they play the European Tour, same as they do from the Nationwide Tour to the PGA Tour.
“They just fit straight in. So they can all play, it’s just a question of them getting their chance on the bigger stage.”
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