Ireland’s most prestigious Scratch Cup gets underway tomorrow as some big hitters roll into Mullingar Golf Club for the Mullingar Scratch Trophy looking to add their name to an illustrious list of winners.
The tournament will be played across 72 holes with 36 holes being played tomorrow and the final 36 on Monday to see who will etch their name alongside Darren Clarke, Pádraig Harrington, Paul McGinley, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry among others.
Standout players in the field include former South of Ireland champion TJ Ford (Co. Sligo), former Irish Amateur champion Robbie Cannon (Balbriggan), Connacht Strokeplay winner Sam Murphy (Portumna), Keith Egan (Carton House), Jack McDonnell (Forest Little), Ryan Griffin (Rosapenna), Jack Hearn (Tramore), Patrick Keeling, (Roganstown), Richard Knightly (Royal Dublin), Paul Coughlan (Castleknock) and Irish Close champion Quentin Carew (Castleknock).
“I don’t think I’ve played Mullingar in the sun I don’t know what it is. Anytime I’ve ever played it there has always been some sort of rain but it’s the same for everyone.
“I can’t wait to play still, I grew up only down the road from it in Edenderry and would have played Mullingar loads over the years. I played there in Senior Cup and Barton Shield,” says Carew.
Tallaght based Garda Carew has a long association with the Mullingar Scratch Trophy having first made an appearance as a late call up when he was just sixteen – he made the cut!
“My first Scratch Cup was when I was sixteen and my dad got a phonecall and they rang saying there was a spot going if I wanted to play in it, literally I was a child playing in it and I’m playing in it a long time now. I actually made the cut! I think it ended up being 54 holes, we played 18 and we couldn’t finish the second round so I made the cut but it wasn’t a full one from what I remember the rain just lashed when I arrived on the first tee. I was off two at the time and shot four or five over which wasn’t too bad. I hadn’t played it off the blues before at that stage. Playing in it that long now that I recognise a lot of faces in the golf club.”
The Allenwood native has been pleased with his parkland form so far this year, picking up the Caslteknock Scratch Cup last month while he was third in the Connacht Strokeplay in Portumna.
“I’ll travel from home this week so I can stay in my own bed anytime you get your own bed it makes a huge difference. I don’t know how many times I played that golf course and it’s one of those places where you feel a lot more comfortable. I feel naturally comfortable on parkland so it’s a course you can make a few birdies but can get punished very easily with a lot of tight tee shots and strong par threes, especially the second. It’s one of the hardest par 3s you will ever play.
“I have had a few good tournaments this year, came third in the Connacht Strokeplay so my parkland form is strong. Links, I had a good start to the year winning in Rosslare, did well in the West and kind of went the other way. I played alright in Lahinch and then had three doubles in the second round which killed me. Lahinch will do that to you.
“The next two events are parkland, this and the Close so I am looking forward to writing a few wrongs.”
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