In what world does it make sense that a West of Ireland semi finalist and a player who finished in the top-8 at the Irish Amateur Open can’t get into this weekend’s East of Ireland field?
Not just not getting in but in fact these players are 15th and 16th on the reserve list respectively with under 24 hours to go until starting time in County Louth Golf Club. A championship that could be without two of Ireland’s most in form players of the season so far.
Cian Harkin of the Island has had an excellent start to the championship season, reaching the semi-finals of the West of Ireland in County Sligo Golf Club last month before a top-15 finish at the Irish Amateur Open which could have been better had it not been for a slow weekend. He was also bang in the mix after the opening round of the North of Ireland before being blown away in Portrush.
Carton House man Darragh Flynn, on another day, is the Irish Amateur Open champion. He was in the final group in Seapoint on trophy day and is now very much on the outside looking in for this weekend.
Even looking at the North of Ireland leaderboard, Aaron Marshall of Lisburn finished in the top-10 but was eighth reserve for the East. He has since been added to the field but something is gone awry here, even Rían Carvill at 28th reserve seems absolutely ridiculous, a solid championship player.
Since the new World Handicap System came into Ireland, it is fair to say that Golf Ireland Championships have been subject to scrutiny from the average Joe soap. A +2.7 handicap cut off for this weekend’s East of Ireland Championship is simply staggering. But you have to wonder where these astronomical handicap figures are coming from.
There are players who are regularly appearing in championships and shooting in the low to mid 80s who seem to be able to manage their handicap – and more power to them, use the system. But it is a bad look for our championships and often draws criticism from onlookers who are surveying the leaderboards looking for culprits.
Golf Ireland tried to balance this by bringing in a rule that meant, entrants into championships must balance their handicap index with competition scores rather than relying on general play rounds. If a player had more than four general play round that were significantly better than their competition scores, their entry would be reviewed or even withdrawn.
It’s fair to say that albeit this was a move made in good faith it has made little or no difference.
Currently a Strokes Gained Ratings system is being piloted in partnership with Quantum Sports Data. This will be driven by results collected not only from Golf Ireland championships and events, but also from the considerable schedule of Men’s and Women’s Senior Scratch Cups which are organised by clubs all over Ireland. This will be implemented in full for the 2027 season as a new primary qualification method for next year’s men’s and women’s championships.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out as it would be pleasing to see good finishes in our flagship events rewarded. Golf Ireland hope that the Strokes Gained system will benefit team selections, wouldn’t rewarding the top-15 finishers in the Irish Amateur with a place in the remainder of the championships go a long way to maintaining the highest quality of fields?
That being said, the field this weekend is stacked despite the issues with the entries and reserve list. The East is probably prime time for a championship, the US collegiate season is over meaning our bigger stars are home for a brief period – something which is lacking in the Irish AM and the North which is dying a death in its current slot.
Stuart Grehan, Caolan Rafferty, David Howard, Sean Keeling, Thomas Abom, Keith Egan, Matthew McClean, Dylan Keating, Gavin Tiernan, Mark Cadden, Patrick Keeling, Colm Campbell, Dylan Holmes and Jonathan Keane are the headline acts. Young guns are aplenty in the shape of Isaac Oliver, John William Burke, Luke Furlong and William O’Riordan while Morgan Cain, Gavin O’Neill, Joshua Hill and Fionn Dobbin are back from the US collegiate scene to bulk up the field.
The last time a home club winner was crowned was in 1985 when Fibarr Ronan claimed the title and hopes will be high that the feat can be repeated this year, with Graham Callaghan, Harley Phipps, Tiernan, Evan Farrell, Ryan O’Doherty, Daniel O’Brien, Jack McKenna, Ronan O’Reilly, Louis Goodman, Grehan and Gerard Dunne all representing the host club this weekend.
Harkin plans to wait around Baltray on Friday to see if he can get a coveted tee time, if the waiting game is good enough for Brooks Koepka, it’s good enough for him.
Leave a comment