While the 51st Walker Cup at Lahinch will be the primary focus for most of the national and international golf media this coming weekend, those living in the north east corner of the island have a very enticing tournament kicking off on their own doorstep.
The one in the southwest will feature many stars of the future – players who could go on to have long and successful PGA Tour careers, become Ryder Cup players, maybe even major champions. But the one in the northeast features players who’ve already ticked off several of those boxes and are still every bit as competitive now in their golden years as they were when they were elite amateurs eying up a move into the professional sphere.
Austrian Markus Brier returns as the defending champion, having ended a four-year winless streak by edging out Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg by two. On a wet and windy final day, Brier began with his nose in front and managed to hold the chasing pack at bay and his emotions in the aftermath only proved that the ticking of time does little to blunt competitive instincts.
“It means everything,” he emphatically declared. “We’re out here to win, and if you haven’t won or been in contention for some years…. That’s what I worked for and now I know, OK, I’m on the right path and I hope I can keep it going.”
Lundberg, a three-time European Tour winner, was still searching for his first Staysure Legends Tour win, but that was an itch that he finally scratched last week when claiming the Staysure English Legends title as the expense of Stephen Gallacher.
The Scot, who turned 50 just over 18 months ago, is still seeking his first Legends win but now has two runner-up finishes this season and has yet to finish outside the top eight in his seven starts. You could say he’s due…
Four Irishmen are in the field. Damian Mooney from Belfast, Dubliner Peter Lawrie, Kilkenny man Gary Murphy, and Ballymena’s own Cameron Clark.
Clark is the only one of the four with full status on the Tour for 2027, and once he’d secured his playing rights for what is his rookie season on the Legends Tour, this was the event he was looking forward to more than any other.
Despite speaking with an English accent having moved across the pond when he was a child, Clark has always been unequivocal. He’s an Irishman, and Ballymena is home.
“I was born at the Cottage Hospital here and my dad was Head Pro at Ballymena golf club, so it’s wonderful to be back home,” he said.
“The family and friends will be here so we will try and make a holiday of the week and spend time with them, so I am really looking forward to the event. It was the first event I put in the calendar for this year when I earned my card at Q-School.”
Clark comes into the week ranked 52nd on the Order of Merit, but the omens are good as he finished tied for 15th at the Staysure English Legends last week – his best finish of his rookie season – and continues to build momentum after a shaky start.
But the man with the biggest target on his back is New Zealander Steven Alker, playing on a sponsor’s invitation.
Alker arrives after winning back-to-back titles on the PGA Tour Champions, and the 2022 Senior PGA Championship winner is now a 13-time winner on the U.S. circuit.
Alker’s last appearance at a Legends Tour event – not co-sanctioned – came in Mexico in 2024 and he duly delivered, shooting 17-under for three rounds and taking a one-stroke win.
He’s hoping to complete a hat-trick of victories for the first time in his career, but Galgorm is a golf course that’s always waiting to pounce and punish errors, and none of the other likely contenders will have travelled as far as Alker to make it to the first tee.
Can he prove that he’s operating at a different level? Or will one of the regular Legends Tour players show him that the standard is every bit as good over here?
Why don’t you come to Galgorm yourself and find out?
Tickets are free and you can get them here.
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