Ireland's quest for a first ever European Boys' Team Championship will go into overdrive on Scotland's east coast, the traditional home of golf, for the next few days. Jimmy Greene, the non-playing captain, arrived in Gullane with his sextet of hot-shot teenagers on Sunday and confidently remarked: "if they're on song, they could take on the world."
Somewhat appropriately, the championship is being staged on a links and the Irish team compete in the strokeplay qualifying today with the initial target of making the top flight of eight teams for the matchplay stages later in the week.
Ireland's confidence was heightened by their history-making success in the Boys' Home Internationals at Royal North Devon last autumn, and three survivors - David Jones, Robin Symes and Michael McDermott - are included in the team for the Europeans on the links which lies east of Edinburgh.
Jones, the runaway winner of the Leinster Boys' championship at Arklow last week, which came just a week after his play-off defeat to Alan Murray in the Irish youths', will provide the backbone of the Irish team. The 18-year-old City of Derry player is rated by Keith Nolan as "one of the best strikers of a ball I have seen" and his current form is a bonus for the team.
"David played exceptionally well in Arklow," said Green, "and the other players are also coming into form at just the right time." Indeed, Jones, along with Stackstown's McDermott, who set a new course record of 65 in Arklow, Shandon Park's Symes, UCD scholarship student Justin Kehoe, Mallow's Mervyn Owens and Co Sligo's Sean McTernan are proof that the GUI's coaching structures are reaping dividends.
Owens didn't play in the Leinster Boys', preferring instead to take up the chance to play alongside Nick Faldo in the pro-am at Druids Glen. The 16-year-old was the winner of one of the Faldo Junior tournaments last year and playing alongside the six-time `major' winner was one of his rewards.
Symes is what Green terms a "big occasion player" and this was shown in that historic win in Devon when he had a 100 per cent record from his six matches, while McTernan showed he possesses nerves of steel in the manner in which he sank the winning putt to bring the Bulmers Irish Senior Cup to Co Sligo last September. "There was a big gap to be filled in boys' golf when you consider the likes of Michael Hoey, Graeme McDowell, Mark Campbell, Colm Moriarty, Lee Dalton and David Carroll, who were all members of that team in Devon have progressed on to youths' since then," said Greene. "Yet, it is an indication of the strength in Irish junior golf that we're in Gullane with a strong team and high expectations." Greene is convinced that the national squad sessions which have been conducted regularly for boys' and youths' teams for over a year have resulted in increased confidence. "They're undoubtedly more motivated and focused," said Greene, "and we intend to make the top flight. Once there, anything can happen - but I'd be inclined to believe that we have players with proven matchplay ability and that should be very much in our favour."
