15-year-old Joshua Hill from Galgorm Castle will headline home hopes as the Irish Boys U16 Amateur Open gets underway today at Donabate.
Hill, who plays off a plus three handicap, has already won several tournaments this year and played for Ireland in the recent Boys U18 Home Internationals in Wales.
The teenage star arrives on the peninsula fresh off making the cut amongst the professionals at the World Invitational and will be a leading Irish contender amongst a 144 strong field which has also attracted entries from France, Germany, England, Wales and Scotland.
The field will also include up and coming Donabate golfers Brian and Ben Hanratty while another, Josh Higgins, is currently on the waiting list hoping for a late call-up.
The 54-hole strokeplay tournament tees off today [Wednesday] and finishes on Friday when the new champion will be crowned. Since the competition began in 2006, many players who have gone on to be top class amateur and professional golfers have played in it, including current European Tour professionals Paul Dunne and Gavin Moynihan and Challenge Tour player Robin Dawson.
The Captain of Donabate Golf Club, Joe Rice, said: “This year marks the 80th anniversary of our move to our current home and we are extremely grateful to the Golfing Union of Ireland for giving us the opportunity to host one of their Championships.
“It has attracted an exciting international field and we are looking forward to presenting our championship standard course in the best possible condition for what we expect will be a challenging but fair test of these young golfers’ abilities.”
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