Short game

McGee ninth in Puerto Rico:ULSTER'S Garth McGee, from Bangor, who moved this year from East Tennessee State University to Old Dominion University, Norfolk in Virginia, tied for ninth place in a field of 75 players at the Caribbean Intercollegiate men's tournament at Costa Caribe Resort, Puerto Rico.

Second-year student McGee scored 73, 73 and 69 for 215 over a par-72 course. Adam Goins (University of South Carolina Upstate) was the individual winner on seven-under 209 with scores of 69, 67 and 73.

USC (847) won the team title from Johnson and Webber, Florida (857), Nova Southeastern (858) and Old Dominion 868.

Sorenstam role in ILGU Junior Medal sponsorship

ANNIKA SORENSTAM, the greatest female golfer of all time and Golf Digest Ireland, are to jointly sponsor the ILGU’s Junior Medal. As one of the two vice-captains to Alison Nicholas for the upcoming Solheim Cup – to be held for the first time in Ireland this September at Killeen Castle, Co Meath – Sorenstam is a dedicated supporter of getting girls into golf at a young age.

“I’m excited to be working with the ILGU,” said Sorenstam. “It’s the oldest ladies golf union in the world and its record for promoting and supporting the game is incredible. Together, I believe we can have a positive effect on girls’ golf in Ireland and hopefully inspire the juniors to follow their dreams and reach their potential in golf.”

The aim of the Junior Medal is to encourage girls of all standards to participate in competition. Open to all juniors (under 18 years of age) who are members of an ILGU-affiliated club, the qualifying period for the ILGU Junior Medal final will begin in May and continue to July. Then, the 60 girls with the lowest aggregate of three nett score, one in each month, will qualify for the final at Seapoint GC on August 23rd.

THE draw for the Best Cup 2011 will take place in Malahide Golf Club on Wednesday, March 23rd, at 7.30pm. Clubs are invited to send two representatives and to play in a nine-hole competition, which will be held prior to the meeting.

Tour Major changes at Clontarf

CLONTARF Golf Club is the place to be these days, with a number of major developments both on the course and in the clubhouse as the club prepares to celebrate its centenary in 2012.

There is also good news for potential new members of the club with the announcement that the entrance fee for full membership has been reduced substantially from € 10,000 to € 2,500 and from € 5,000 to € 1,000 for a five-day membership.

The club is also very conscious of its youth policy, and this year decided to open membership to boys and girls aged 11/12, and is now in a position to offer membership to those aged between 13 and 15.

The club’s new pro-shop, which is now sited close to the first tee, was officially opened by the club president, Des Killen, and provides club professional Eamonn Brady with a top-class facility, which also includes an indoor teaching room.

Among the many on-course improvements are new extended teeing areas at the seventh and 11th holes, which will be ready for the competitive season.

The clubhouse is also undergoing major improvements with new lockerrooms for men and women, a refurbished lounge and new landscape windows providing a panoramic view of the course.

Expanded schedule for TopGolfer

THE TopGolfer Tour will show an increase of over 50 per cent in the number of scratch cups on its schedule for 2011.

The 46-strong event schedule, which includes two events at The K Club, emphasises the huge success enjoyed by the new golf community in its first year.

TopGolfer was launched last year to provide low handicap golfers with a series of competitive events and attracted over 2,500 competitors from 227 clubs competing in 30 events throughout Ireland. It concluded with Rob Fitzpatrick (3) of Dunmurry Springs fending off the other 29 winners to take the title of Tour Champion.

Many of the new events will be hosted by existing venue partners such as Arklow, Fota Island and Woodenbridge, who have all added a second scratch cup to their calendars. New clubs to the circuit include Concra Wood, South County, Cork, Warrenpoint, New Forest and The K Club, which will host a 36-hole senior scratch across both the Palmer and Smurfit courses on the one day.

This year the TopGolfer Tour Championship final will be played at Druids Glen on October 1st and 2nd. All of the scratch cup winners from the year and five order of merit qualifiers will battle over 36-holes to find Ireland’s TopGolfer for 2011.

For more information visit www.topgolfer.ie

Hermitage Scratch Cup

THE signature 10th hole at Hermitage GC with its spectacular new tee overlooking the Liffey Valley will be in play for the women’s Hermitage Scratch Cup on May 1st.

The staging of the 40th running of the event will be sponsored by Heatons and Sports World, continuing their now three-year association with Hermitage.

The event has attracted top fields over the years and with the added bonus of points in the ILGU Order of Merit rankings will do so again this year. The scratch cup is also a wonderful opportunity for players of all ages, entrants as young as 12 participated in last year’s competition. Entry forms are available on the ILGU and Hermitage websites.

Meanwhile, The Woodbrook Ladies 36-hole Scratch Cup, takes place on Sunday, April 10th with a handicap limit of 12. Entries close on Friday, April 1st. Details available on www.woodbrook.ie or on ilgu.ie

Maguire twins keep Euro hopes alive

LISA MAGUIRE moved a step closer to earning a place in the European team for this year’s PING Junior Solheim Cup, to be played at Knightsbrook Resort Spa and Golf Hotel, Co Meath, on September 20th-21st, after her victory over French teenager Emilie Alonso in the final of the Spanish International Ladies’ Amateur Championship at Sherry Golf, Jerez de la Frontera.

Maguire’s victory gave her 80 points and an early lead in the official qualifying list for this year’s PING Junior Solheim Cup match and she could well be joined in the team by her twin sister, Leona, who is currently in third place on the official ranking after claiming a share of third place in the strokeplay stages at Sherry Golf before losing out to Alonso in the quarter-finals of the subsequent matchplay series.

The Maguire twins are bidding to make their second appearances in the event, having made their debuts in the 2009 match at Aurora Golf Club in Illinois.