Lowry makes it three-in-a-row.

It was a very strange seven days last week, when the three main golfing stories all had very strong Irish subplots. Leona Maguire`s masterful clinic at the Solheim Cup was a story that the Irish golfing public has waited many a year to embrace. A record points total by a rookie at the event would have been a great story on its own but coupled with a European victory on American soil; this now has the potential to become the game changer moment for Irish ladies golf. The Irish Amateur Close Champion is the ideal poster girl for Golf Ireland to aggressively develop a unique marketing campaign to coincide with their very popular Girls4Golf and Get Into Golf strategies.

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We must be very careful though and not lose the run of ourselves. A couple of key points must be acknowledged especially as Leona`s success came in the unique format that is team golf. One need only look at the recent history of the Ryder Cup to see the likes of Poulter, Montgomerie and Westwood all of whom found the matchplay format against the Americans a comfortable environment but never converted their expertise when it mattered on the back nine at a Major. Another observation is that only four of the current top players in the world teed it up. I normally like my golf stories not only to be front and centre on the sports pages but also accurate. This record breaking performance by Leona is a wonderful highlight in her career but only time will tell; will Major titles follow?

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The R&A announcement that the Open Championship returns to Ireland in 2025 was a wonderful piece of news and another opportunity especially for the girls and boys of the nation, to experience firsthand the white hot atmosphere that surrounds a Major. The six year turnaround between staging’s of Open Championships is considered very short but will allow Rory McIlroy the opportunity to exercise the demons of 2019 when following a “car crash” on his opening hole, he failed to make the cut. On the other hand it will surely concentrate the mind of Shane Lowry who will definitely see this as a great chance to avail of his local knowledge and secure the Claret Jug once again.

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Padraig Harrington announced his three “wild card” picks for his European Ryder Cup team following the BMW Championship at Wentworth last Sunday. The allocation of double points for this event guaranteed nothing was guaranteed until everything was guaranteed. The final selection made by Harrington in picking Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Shane Lowry finally draws the curtain down on the Ryder Cup careers of a number of European legends most notable Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer and Henrik Stenson. I was unsure whether Lowry would get a Captains pick if he didn`t make the team automatically but following some solid end of season form most notably in America; the decision by Harrington to invite the Clara man to become part of Team Europe was warmly welcomed by both fans and media alike. ??

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