Lee Valley scratch cup steps up in status

The Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup will step into a new era this season as the 2016 renewal will see the prestigious 54-hole tournament sponsored by EMC and carrying world amateur ranking points.

The family-owned Co Cork course designed by the late Christy O’Connor Jnr is a relative newcomer to the scene, having been created in 1992 but the event has long been an established fixture among elite amateur golfers in Munster and beyond.

Switching from an 18-hole event to 54 holes in 2009, Lee Valley’s first winner in the extended format was Shane Lowry, who three weeks later won the Irish Open at Baltray, and the tournament has gone from strength to strength, and now attracting a prestigious sponsor in global technology company EMC.