Naas ace Rob Brazill has scooped the Bridgestone
Order of Merit for 2019 and secured his spot on the Ireland team for
September's Home Internationals at Lahinch.
Brazill, 22, pipped Galway's Ronan Mullarney to the
Order of Merit title by finishing 11th at the season-ending Mullingar Scratch
Trophy on Sunday (11 August). The Kildare man needed to finish inside the first
16 at Mullingar to clinch top spot on the Bridgestone table.
"I'm delighted," said Brazill. "It's
been a very busy week and a very busy year as well so it's nice to finish it
off with a positive."
Big hitting Brazill made his breakthrough last
season with victory at the West of Ireland. Consistency has been the hallmark
of his 2019 campaign, with a string of top-5 finishes. Fourth at the East of
Ireland and a semi-finalist at the North of Ireland, Brazill reached the final
of the AIG Irish Close in Ballybunion.
"It would have been great to pick up a
championship during the year but to play consistently was brilliant," he
reflected.
When he lines out for Ireland at the Home
Internationals in September at Lahinch, Brazill will emulate three Naas
clubmates: Jack Hume, Conor O'Rourke and Jonathan Yates.
And as the number one player on the domestic scene
this term, he succeeds Alex Gleeson (Castle) as the Order of Merit champion.
"I wouldn't have known what the Order of Merit
was until Bridgestone got involved," said Brazill. "Now everyone
wants to get their name up there and get a place on the Homes team."
The top three players on the Bridgestone table
gained automatic selection for the Home Internationals. Runner-up Ronan
Mullarney, 23, had probably secured his place in the team by winning the AIG
Irish Close at Ballybunion in the penultimate tournament of the series.
For Colm Campbell, who missed last season through
injury, a return to the Ireland team had long been earmarked.
"It was one of the goals at the start of the
year to finish in the top three of the order of merit," said Campbell
after the season ending Mullingar Scratch Trophy. "I'm delighted to get
the job done."
A final round of 69 meant that Campbell finished
third in Mullingar, his fourth top 5 of the season. Victory at the Ulster
Stroke Play Championship in May, his first win since the 2016 Flogas Irish
Amateur Open, was undoubtedly the highlight of his campaign.
The Warrenpoint star, 32, won his first major title
at the East of Ireland in 2014 and has a decorated international career as a
key man on the Ireland team that won the Home Internationals four years
running, from 2014 to 2017.
"I love Lahinch," said Campbell looking
ahead to the 2019 Home Internationals at the Co Clare links. "I'm looking
forward to getting back down there in September and hopefully be a part of
another winning Home Internationals team."
Colm Conyngham, Marketing Manager at Bridgestone
Ireland, said: "Bridgestone would like to congratulate Rob on winning the
second Bridgestone Order of Merit and wish him every success in the future. We
were very impressed at the quality of the players and we hope that our
initiative with the GUI helps keep the spotlight on Ireland's amateur golfers
and emerging talent."
Bridgestone, the world's largest tyre manufacturer,
became title sponsor for the men's order of merit in 2018. Brazill's consistent
excellence throughout the season ensured that he finished at number one.
BRIDGESTONE ORDER OF MERIT -- TOP 10
*1 Robert Brazill (Naas) 720
*2 Ronan Mullarney (Galway) 700
*3 Colm Campbell (Warrenpoint) 562
4 Matthew McClean (Malone) 493
5 Keith Egan (Carton House) 492
6 Conor Purcell (Portmarnock) 472
7 Sean Flanagan (Portmarnock) 404
8 Peter O'Keeffe (Douglas) 384
9 Eanna Griffin (Waterford) 376
10 Marc Boucher (Carton House) 370
*Top three earned automatic pick for the Ireland
team at the Home Internationals (Lahinch, 11-13 September)
Link to final table: https://www.golfnet.ie/guilive#/orderofmerit/94990
