‘Hidden gem’ Tulfarris to host EuroPro Tour

By James O’Connor

Tulfarris Hotel and Golf Resort is looking its resplendent best as the Wicklow resort gears up to host the PREM Group Irish Masters on the EuroPro tour at the end of the month.

After a huge investment and redevelopment by the Prem Group in recent years, the Blessington track will become the only venue outside the UK to host a PGA EuroPro Tour event, securing the event for the next three years. The Masters tournament will be the penultimate event of the Euro Pro Tour series from August 29-31, with EuroPro Tour spokesperson Jake Asby declaring: “We found a hidden gem here”.

Simon Thornton, appointed this year as Tulfarris’ touring professional, will host the tournament, and the former Europro Tour and European Tour winner said yesterday:

It will be a brilliant feeling competing on a course I know so well. We have done a lot of work on the course and I am sure that the players and spectators will really enjoy the challenges this stunning lakeside course presents.

The course was designed by renowned architect Patrick J Merrigan, and under the ownership of PREM Group, the course has recently undergone a €150,000 investment to upgrade bunkers, greens, yardage markers, and hole maps.

An impressive field will compete for the Irish Masters, with high-place finishes possibly opening the door to the 2019 Challenge Tour through the Order of Merit. Sitting ninth in the standings, Brendan McCarroll of West Cliff Golf Links is Ireland’s leading challenger, and a good performance at the Irish Masters would put the Derryman in prime position heading into the Tour Championship in Desert Springs, Indiana Almeira.

The tournament provides Europe’s best up-and-coming golfers the chance to gain experience of life on tour, and in particular in front of the TV cameras.

A two-hour highlights package from each event will be broadcast on Sky Sports, and on 98 networks around the world beaming the spectacular images of Tufarris Hotel and Golf Resort into 400 million homes.

Since its inception in 2002, notable Major winners such as Louis Oosthuizen and Carl Schwartzel have won the overall EuroPro Tour, as have former Ryder Cup representatives Ross Fisher and Nicolas Colsaerts. This will be the second-last of the 15 main events on the tour before the Newmachar Golf Club Challenge in Aberdeen rounds off the series on September 21.

It’s not only the tour players that will be put to the test: a pro-am on August 28 will feature former Ireland soccer star Stephen Hunt and TV personality Brian Ormond.

Tulfarris will also host the Flogas Junior Irish Junior Open this week. Jim Murphy, CEO of Prem Group, believes this event is a magnificent opportunity build their name even more.

It’s going to be an incredible, international showcase opportunity for Ireland, Wicklow and for Tulfarris as a two-hour highlights package from the event will be broadcast on Sky Sports,” he said.

EuroPro Tour social media officer Jake Asby said: “We found a hidden gem in this course. The course will be a huge test for our players. We’re really excited about coming to Tulfarris.”