Murphy part of local challenge at Enniscorthy

Whirlpool Irish Senior Men's and Women's Amateur Close Championship gets underway on Tuesday

Avril Murphy receives her Captain’s Prize medal from Enniscorthy Lady Captain Helen D’Eathe Photo: Enniscorthy Golf Club

Avril Murphy said Enniscorthy Golf Club are ready to showcase the improvements made to their course when the Whirlpool Irish Senior Men's & Women's Amateur Close Championship gets underway this morning.

Murphy has a dual role at this week’s championship, competing for the Women’s title while also helping to oversee the running of the event as Chair of the Management Committee at the Wexford venue.

The Meath native has been instrumental in overseeing significant improvements at Enniscorthy over the last two years, with the club's preparations for hosting the championships providing an added incentive.

“The club has gone from strength to strength,” said Murphy.

“The team is fantastic, between the house, treasurer, media and all the various people on the council. Everyone came together with the same drive and ambition.

“We’ve done major work with the course. We brought in a consultant two years ago to give us an overview of what we needed to improve on. The community of members started to come together and got behind all of this.

“They’ve done a fantastic job around the place. The greenkeepers have been putting in fantastic work, they’ve brought our greens back to life, they’re absolutely fantastic.

“We’re starting to do the checklist and ticking off everything and that’s been very obvious. The improvement over the last two years has been huge.” 

A total of 141 players will tee it up across the Women’s and Men’s championships, with the opening two rounds of Stroke Play qualifying taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday before focus switches to match play, culminating in the final rounds on Friday.

Having committed to hosting the championships more than two years ago, the event has provided a clear target for everyone at Enniscorthy to work towards.

“It’s given us real drive and motivation to showcase the course,” said Murphy.

“Over the last few weeks, we’ve had a lot of the competitors coming and playing and the feedback has been wonderful. That was one of the things we were really delighted to hear.” 

Former champion Karl Bornemann, Douglas, is among the contenders for the men's title. File Pic: Eddie O'Hare

Murphy will also get the opportunity to test those improvements herself as she bids to challenge for the Women’s title. Having won the Captain’s Prize at Enniscorthy earlier this year, she knows what is required to navigate the tree lined fairways.

“You need to keep your ball straight,” said Murphy. “We’re narrow and we have a lot of trees. They say if you can play Enniscorthy well, you can play anywhere well. Your drive has to be accurate. 

“I’m looking forward to playing with the elite of golf from around the country.” 

Murphy begins her championship at 12.40pm today alongside Ruth Maguire (Hermitage) and May McCann (Nairn & Portnoo), while defending champion Deirdre Smith (Co Louth) will begin her title defence at 1.50pm.

Enniscorthy will also be represented by Connie Doyle and James Gilbert, with Murphy backing both local players to go well this week.

“Both Connie and James will fly the flag very well,” said Murphy. “I have no doubt that they might even bring in a result.” 

Gilbert is the sole local member competing in the Men’s event and tees up alongside Paul Flynn (Tramore) and Christopher O’Connor (Corrstown) at 11.05am.

The Men’s field also boasts strong contenders, with former champions Joe Lyons (Galway), Karl Bornemann (Douglas) and Jim Carvill (Banbridge) all in the field.

“Everybody is excited about the prospect of all these fantastic golfers coming down and putting our course to the test,” said Murphy.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how the week pans out.”