Next stop Norway for Ireland’s young masters
Oslo GC in Norway will host this year’s European Young Masters, a tournament for Europe’s top under-16 golfers.
Aaron Marshall (Lisburn) and Luke O’Neill (Connemara) have been selected by the Golfing Union of Ireland and they will travel alongside Annabel Wilson (Lurgan) and Sara Byrne (Douglas), who have been chosen by the Irish Ladies Golf Union. The European Young Masters is a 54-hole stroke play tournament and runs from 27-29 July.
Irene Poynton (The Island) captains the team with Peter English (Limerick) acting as team manager. As well as chasing individual honours, the three best cards each day will count towards Ireland’s total in the team event.
Annabel Wilson, who recently represented Great Britain and Ireland at the Vagliano Trophy in Italy, will play in this event for the third time. Wilson, the two-time Irish Girls’ Champion, finished sixth in 2016.
Sixteen-year-old Sara Byrne has enjoyed a stellar season and represented Great Britain & Ireland at the Junior Vagliano Trophy. Third at the prestigious Fairhaven Trophy, Byrne won the Munster Girls’ Championship in April.
For Marshall and O’Neill, this will be a new experience. Both players are members of the Ireland under-16 panel. Marshall claimed the Leinster Boys’ Amateur Open at Headfort earlier this season. O’Neill first made waves two years ago when winning the inaugural Connacht under-14 title on the back of his Munster under-13 success while he featured for Ireland’s under-16s at this season’s Quadrangular Series, winning five points from six.
The GUI and ILGU High Performance programmes are supported by Sport Ireland. The European Young Masters has featured Ireland’s finest young players in recent seasons. Lisa Maguire won the girls’ individual title at Chantilly in 2008, with sister Leona second as Ireland also finished second in the team event. Rory McIlroy was runner-up in the boys’ individual event in 2003.
European Young Masters (Oslo GC, 27-29 July): Sara Byrne (Douglas), Aaron Marshall (Lisburn), Luke O’Neill (Connemara), Annabel Wilson (Lurgan).
