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Devlin reflects as the dust
settles
26.06.08
"Irish Open would be
a big ask"
by Simon McGeady, Inishowen Independent
THE DUST has now settled following the biggest
weekend in the history of Ballyliffin Golf Club and
the committee are taking some well-earned time off
before convening next week to assess the impact of
hosting the Irish Seniors Open. Spain’s Juan Quiros
edged out Ireland Des Smyth to take the title after
a successfully run tournament.
The hope now is that Ballyliffin will have made a
strong enough impression on the European Tour top
brass to be given the honour of hosting the Irish
Senior’s event again in the future, or better still
the Irish Open. |
Ken Devlin, Ballyliffin
Golf Club Captain is confident that this will not be
the last time the golf club gets to host a European
Tour event, but added that now was not the time to
speculate on what events might be hosted at
Ballyliffin in the future.
“The committee has taken a week off now. We will
meet again in the next couple of weeks to take stock
after the Seniors Open. |
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I was speaking to some
of the European Tour officials who were here and I
know the PGA were very complimentary of the two
courses we have and how we hosted the Irish Seniors
Open.
“As for the Irish Open, it is not a matter of me or
any of the committee stating that we want to host
the event. It’s up to the PGA to approach clubs and
I know that the Irish Open is committed to Adare
Manor next year and may have an agreement to
continue at the course beyond that.
“I can only speak from my own perspective, but the
Irish Senior’s Open would be relatively easy to host
compared to the Irish Open. Getting the sponsorship
for the Irish Open would be a big ask for a members’
club like ours.”
Devlin praised the efforts of everyone connected
with the club following the successful hosting of
the Irish Seniors Open, including the 140 members
who acted as stewards over the weekend.
The one let down was the weather, which was
especially bad on the final day of the tournament
with driving wind and heavy downpours throughout.
“The two days of the Pro Am went well and then the
three day event started on the Friday with a bigger
crowd than we were expecting. On the Saturday we had
over 1000 cars in the public car park and everything
was building nicely to the Sunday.
“It’s disappointing that at the peak viewing time on
the Sunday afternoon we had the worst weather. Blue
skies over Glashedy rock would have been great, but
it wasn’t to be,” said Mr Devlin adding that it was
a privilege and an honour to captain the club during
Irish Seniors Open week. For photos of the Irish
Seniors Open
click here. |
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