Local golfers aim for North of Ireland glory

The local contingent - six from Galgorm Castle Golf Club and two from Ballymena Golf Club - are in action on the north coast this week in pursuit of the ‘Holy Grail’ of Ulster amateur golf.

They will be aiming to win the Magners-sponsored North of Ireland Open Championship, which teed off at Royal Portrush yesterday (Monday).

Despite producing some excellent golfers, no-one from the Ballymena area has ever managed to land the coveted crown in its 65-year history.

Ballymena golfers have twice been beaten in the matchplay final - the late John McAleese in 1972 and then Dermot McElroy in 2010.

McElroy, who had to withdraw from last year’s competition through illness, will again lead the local charge for the title.

It will be a quick return to the links of Royal Portrush for McElroy, who competed as an amateur in last week’s Irish Open, where he missed the cut by just one shot.

That showing, along with his considerable experience of playing at Portrush, will make Dermot one of the favourites for the competition, in which he already holds a place in the history books as the tournament’s youngets player, having made his debut as a 15-year-old in 2008.

This year’s handicap ‘cut’ for the North of Ireland was set at 3.0 and it is indicative of the strength of amateur golf in the Ballymena area that eight local players have reached that lofty qualifying criteria.

Also in the field is Dermot’s Ballymena Golf Club colleague Alex McCloy - a multiple club champion at Raceview.

Galgorm Castle also continues to reap the benefits of its progressive youth set-up with young players like Michael Reid, Jamie Sutherland and Jonathan McNeill tackling the unforgiving contours of Royal Portrush’s Dunluce and Valley courses this week.

They are joined by clubmates Adrian Burns, Keith Kempton and Alan Goodrich with all competitors playing a round apiece at Dunluce and the Valley on Monday and Tuesday.

They will hope to have advanced beyond the stroke play stage and into the final 64, who compete in matchplay with the winner being crowned on Friday.

Past winners of the title include Gareth Maybin and Michael Hoey, while future Ryder Cup stars and Major winners such as Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell had to settle for runners-up spot!