Alex Maguire and Max Kennedy have been rewarded for their fine form after being selected for the upcoming European Team Championships taking place across 11-15 July.
Maguire (Laytown & Bettystown) and Kennedy (Royal Dublin) have been called up in place of Hugh Foley (Royal Dublin) and Robert Moran (Castle) in the two changes to the Men’s Team which heads to Royal Waterloo Golf Club in Belgium while Douglas’ Peter O’Keeffe is the third Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup squad member to be omitted from the panel in what is a blow for their prospects in September.
Maguire has been in sensational form since returning home from the United States in May, successfully defending his East of Ireland title, winning the St Andrews Links Trophy and reaching the quarter-final of the Amateur Championship last week.
The 22-year-old could be set for an Open Championship place depending on results at this weekend’s European Amateur Championship which he is absent from.
Maguire described himself as “gutted” to have opted not to enter after finding himself at the summit of the elite amateur exemption table for Royal Liverpool in July with Estonia’s European AM the final event in the qualification series.
Meanwhile Kennedy picked up a win Stateside earlier this year and won the Ulster Strokeplay. The 21-year-old was second to Liam Nolan in the South American Amateur in January as she started the year with a win and six straight top-10s.
Kennedy is the third highest ranked Irishman in the WAGR at 95th place with four Irish inside the top-100.
Also on the six-man team are Brabazon Trophy and South American Amateur champion Liam Nolan, two-time major champion Caolan Rafferty who has broken back into the top-100 (89) with some excellent form this season, US Mid-Amateur champion Matthew McClean and Kilkenny’s Mark Power.
The Irish Women’s side are set for Toast Golf & Country Club in Finland with a strong team being headlined by Irish Close champion Sara Byrne.
The Douglas woman is joined by Beth Coulter (Kirkistown Castle), US Women’s Open bound Aine Donegan (Lahinch), Anna Foster (Elm Park), Kate Lanigan (Hermitage) and Ulster Strokeplay winner Jessica Ross (Clandeboye).
Byrne, Coulter and Donegan reached the knockout stages of the Women’s Amateur Championship in Sandwich earlier this month while all three made it to at least the semi-finals of the Irish Close in Connemara with Byrne and Coulter contesting the final.
Ross is the only change from the 2022 side as she replaces Lauren Walsh who recently turned professional.
The Ulster woman has been in excellent form this season with top-10 finishes in Wales and Scotland as well as a runner-up place in the European Mid-Amateur Championship.
Golf Ireland have also named squads for the European Boys Team Championship and the European Girls Team Championship.
European Boys’ Team Championship (Golf Club of Geneva, Switzerland)
Aodhagan Brady (Co. Sligo)
Fionn Dobbin (Malone)
Mark Gazi (Tralee)
Sean Keeling (Roganstown)
Jack Murphy (Douglas)
Gavin Tiernan (Co. Louth)
Captain: Peter English (Limerick)
Manager: Jim Long (Monkstown)
Coach: Stephen Hood
European Girls’ Team Championship (Golf Club d’Hossegor, France)
Anna Abom (Edmondstown)
Olivia Costello (Roscommon)
Kate Dillon (Oughterard)
Emma Fleming (Elm Park)
Marina Joyce Moreno (Llavaneras)
Katie Poots (Knock)
Acting Captain: Sara Rose Shelly (Dun Laoghaire)
Manager: Neil Manchip
Coach: Chris Jelly
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