Mark McGowan at Galgorm Castle
Ian Woosnam is one of the headline acts at the Black Desert NI Legends at Galgorm Castle, and the Masters champion was extremely impressed with the golf course when he tackled it in Thursday’s Pro-Am.
“I thought it was a fantastic golf course,” Woosnam said, “and I’m not just saying because we’ve got a tournament here. I really enjoyed it. I love parkland courses anyway, and there were so many challenges out there, you know, so many hazards. It’s just in your face all the time and you’ve got to play well.
“And what a great finishing hole 18 is going to be with that water down the left side. You can see why they’ve had an Irish Open and other big tournaments here before.”
Though he’s one of the headline names, he’s not expecting to seriously contend, and he admits that having fun and ensuring that the guests and sponsors do likewise is his main goal.
“We’ve got new sponsors in Black Desert, so it’s important to have lots of good players here, and I think they’ve signed on for three years which is great,” he said. “I’m here to enjoy it, and I played with three of the guys from Black Desert today. We all had a great time.”
As a Ryder Cup winning captain, Woosnam wasn’t surprised that Keegan Bradley opted not to select himself with his captain’s picks for this year’s edition at Bethpage in New York.
“I’m not surprised at all because it was the right move,” Woosnam explained. “He was asked to be captain and accepted, but I feel a little sorry for him in that he’s played well enough to be on the team.
“I think the only other option was to give up the captaincy and do it in a couple of years’ time and play this year, but he’s got a job to do and he’s going to do as good a job as he possibly can.
“If he tried to be a playing captain and they lose, he’s going to catch so much flak, so it’s definitely the right move.”
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