Irish junior golfers third at American Golf Championships

Portmarnock junior golfer Sergio Ganaza (17) and Dun Laoghaire junior golfer William Walshe (9) both narrowly missed out on the titles at the American Golf Junior Championship final, where they took on qualifiers from all over the U.K and Ireland at Gainsborough Golf Club, home to golf manufacturer PING.

Sergio Ganaza 
 
On one of the toughest courses in the region, Sergio and William played some fantastic golf to return hugely impressive scores of 10 over par in the Gross score category and level par in the Future Star (over 8) respectively. 
 
On any other day this would have been enough to put either or perhaps even both among the prizes, however they came up against some tough opposition.
 
Sergio, who attends Portmarnock Community School in Dublin and is junior captain at Malahide Golf Club had a great experience despite not playing his best golf. He said, “I didn’t start my best on the first few holes but I managed to recover with a great birdie on the 10th.
 
However the last few holes I found it tough to find the fairway. I really enjoyed the whole “tour”experience with Sky cameras and crowds on every hole.”
 
After seeing the championship draw to a close, Matt Bacon, Head of Events at American Golf said, ”This year’s championship has been an amazing event and the golf on display has been of the highest quality. It’s so satisfying to see new faces alongside young golfers who have returned to qualifiers year after year. For American Golf and PING to have been such an important part in the progression of so many young golfers makes me incredibly proud. To make it through to the final from hundreds of entrants from all over the U.K. & Ireland is a fantastic achievement and every one of the participants today has been a credit to themselves, their golf club and their family.”
 
The Junior Championship, which is now in its fourth year, will be shown on Sky Sports in October.