Irish golf pros set for €10,000 shootout
Irish professional golfers sidelined by the current Covid-19 pandemic have been given a chance to get their competitive juices flowing again with a new, mixed one-day event worth €10,000 later this month.
The K Club is set to host the Irish Golfer Shootout supported by BMW and Modest! Golf on its Palmer Ryder Cup Course on Tuesday, July 21, with a first prize of €2,500.
The event will be open to male and female Irish professionals from all tours and categories as well as the 2019-20 Team Ireland panels from the GUI and ILGU.
The tournament is intended to provide competitive action to home-based professionals and high-performance amateur golfers who have seen their playing schedules postponed by the Covid-19 pandemic in recent months and is the brainchild of Irish Golfer Events.
“We’re delighted to be able to provide a platform for our leading players who have been starved of competitive action this season,” Irish Golfer director Peter Finnan said.
Niall Horan, whose Modest! Golf management company is supporting the event, said he was more than happy to help provide a playing opportunity to some of Ireland’s leading players.
“We’re thrilled to be able to support the development of Irish golfers with this event,” the singer said.
“Ireland has produced a conveyor belt of Major champions in recent years but for that to continue, it’s imperative our young players are given the chances to take that next step in their careers. We hope this event can be a stepping-stone in doing just that.”
Modest! Golf director Mark McDonnell added: “It’s been a particularly tough time for professional golfers trying to break through but this event on such a super course like The Palmer at the K Club provides a great opportunity for players to recapture their competitive edge and gives them something to work towards.”
Tournament entry will cost €100 per player, including tea or coffee on arrival and lunch after the round with the €10,000 prize fund to be shared among the top-20 players.
The European and Challenge Tours resume on Thursday in the dual-ranking Austrian Open at Diamond Country Club near Vienna. It will be the first European Tour event to get underway since Spain’s Jorge Campillo won the Qatar Masters on March 8 and there will be three Irishmen in the field, Robin Dawson, Niall Kearney, and Gavin Moynihan, competing for a share of the €500,000 prize fund.
