Golf championships under way at Enniscorthy

By Caomh Breen Allen

Avril Murphy said Enniscorthy Golf Club are ready to showcase the improvements made to their course when the Whirlpool Irish Senior Men’s & Women’s Amateur Close Championship gets underway on Tuesday morning.

Murphy has a dual role at this week’s championship, competing for the Women’s title while also helping to oversee the running of the event as Chair of the Management Committee at the Wexford venue.

“We’ve done major work with the course. We brought in a consultant two years ago to give us an overview of what we needed to improve on. The community of members started to come together and got behind all of this.”

“They’ve done a fantastic job around the place. The greenkeepers have been putting in fantastic work, they’ve brought our greens back to life, they’re absolutely fantastic.”

A total of 141 players will tee it up across the Women’s and Men’s championships, with the opening two rounds of Stroke Play qualifying taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday before focus switches to match play, culminating in the final rounds on Friday.

Having committed to hosting the championships more than two years ago, the event has provided a clear target for everyone at Enniscorthy to work towards.

Murphy will also get the opportunity to test those improvements herself as she bids to challenge for the Women’s title. Having won the Captain’s Prize at Enniscorthy earlier this year, she knows what is required to navigate the tree lined fairways.

“You need to keep your ball straight,” said Murphy.

“We’re narrow and we have a lot of trees. They say if you can play Enniscorthy well, you can play anywhere well. Your drive has to be accurate.”

“I’m looking forward to playing with the elite of golf from around the country.”

Murphy begins her championship at 12.40pm on Tuesday. Enniscorthy will also be represented by Connie Doyle and James Gilbert, with Murphy backing both local players to go well this week.

“Both Connie and James will fly the flag very well,” said Murphy.

“I have no doubt that they might even bring in a result.”