Inside Golf: Emerging stars to join world’s best at Irish Open

There will be some special guests at tomorrow’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Pro Am at Royal County Down, as two teams of young golfers from Shannon Golf Club in Clare and Faithlegg Golf Club in Waterford reap their reward for winning the inaugural Irish Open Golf Skills Challenge.

The new competition, hosted by the Confederation of Golf in Ireland (CGI), which is the body responsible for supporting, promoting and developing the game of golf on the island of Ireland, attracted more than 60 under-15 teams from golf clubs across the four provinces. The boys of Faithlegg and girls from Shannon emerged victorious in their respective finals at the GUI National Golf Academy in Carton House.

The challenge, held in conjunction with The European Tour and supported by Sport Northern Ireland, was designed to encourage boys and girls aged under 15 to develop tee to hole skills in driving, iron play, chipping and putting, all in a team environment.