Enniscrone awaits a place in history

ON JULY 14th, 1923, the main sports page of this newspaper carried a fascinating advertisement. It had been placed by the Co Sligo GC, inviting entries for their August meeting. There was the Campbell Cup, the Jackson Cup for women, the Robinson Cup and... there was the inaugural West of Ireland Championship.

The history of what has become a celebrated event takes on particular relevance this weekend. After 74 successive stagings at Rosses Point, mainly at Easter, the Ulster Bank sponsored championship starts today at Enniscrone, with the opening round of strokeplay qualifying.

Obviously, it is a sad occasion for the Co Sligo club, who found themselves unable to stage it because of a problem width their greens. When a similar problem occurred in 1992, the championship was switched to the end of August, but increasing pressure on the fixture list made such a move impractical.

So, the switch to Enniscrone, albeit for this year only, was eminently sensible. This fine links, overlooking Killala Bay, has already proved itself through the staging of the Irish Close Championship in 1993, when Eddie Power captured the title.

Now, the facility is enhanced by a major extension to the clubhouse. In fact, the finishing touches were being applied yesterday as competitors familiarised themselves with the course in practice, some of them for the first time.

One of the late Eddie Hackett's outstanding creations, the course gradually presents itself as a formidable challenge after a decidedly mundane start. Indeed, the two opening par fives have been described, rather cruelly, as the most boring 1,000 yards in Irish links golf. Yet for all that, they remain a daunting test, into the prevailing wind.

It must be conceded that the finishing stretch lacks the quality of Rosses Point's 14th, 16th and 17th holes. But overall, Enniscrone's par fives are very much stronger, while the par threes are certainly comparable. Two of these are in the last six holes.

The 202 yard 13th, uphill and bunkerless to a semi blind target, is tough and intimidating while in contrast, the 149 yard 17th is an absolute delight. Set in high dunes overlooking the sea, it possesses all the characteristics of a classic short hole.

In the event, the course is to be challenged by a particularly strong field of 123. Indeed, it has taken two late withdrawals to allow Tom Ford (Co Sligo) and Richard Murray (Clontarf) into the line up, despite their handicaps of 2.5 (exact).

At the other end of the scale, the afield includes the defending champion, Garth McGimpsey, who will be attempting to capture the title for a fifth time. He is joined by other champions from last season.

East of Ireland winner Noel Fox and Peter Lawrie, who won the Irish Close at Royal Co Down. Then there is Walker Cup representative Jody Fanagan.

In the context of the upcoming challenge, it is interesting to note that when Lawrie beat McGimpsey in the final of the Close last August, he described the Ulsterman as "the legend." "I still think of him that way," he said yesterday.

Enniscrone holds happy memories for the Dubliner, who celebrated his 23rd birthday last Saturday. He took six points out of six in the Junior Interprovincials there in 1994, having reached the second round of the Close the previous year.

So it came as no surprise when he said: "I like the course, which is just as well, because my record in the West isn't great". Last year, Lawrie lost in the last 16, but it is clear that he is planning the season with the Walker Cup very much to the forefront of his mind.

"I intend to play in the Lytham Trophy, the British Amateur, the Irish Strokeplay and the European Team Championship, all of which are qualifying events," said the UCD student. "But because of studies, I will be unable to play in the St Andrew's Trophy or the Brabazon Trophy.",

Fanagan, meanwhile, arrived in Enniscrone seriously at odds with his game. "It needs a lot of work," he admitted yesterday. "I'm simply not hitting enough greens in regulation. So, for this weekend, I plan to take each round as it comes."

Whatever the success of accomplished challengers, the actual location of the championship will ensure that the winner becomes one of the most notable in its history. Similar to the distinction gained by local man, Larry Vernon, when he captured the inaugural title back in 1923.