Golf Vacations in Ireland
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Irish Amateur Golf Fixtures 2005

5th January 2005:
Details of some of Ireland's leading amateur golf championships have been finalised for 2005. Included in the list of venues are Co. Sligo, Carton House, Co. Louth, Royal County Down and Westport.

The traditional Easter date of the West of Ireland Amateur Championship has been maintained with Europe's leading amateurs battling it out on the County Sligo links at Rosses Point. The defending chamopion is Paul McDonald of Woodbrook Golf Club. Previous winners have included Padraig Harrington (1994), and Mikko Illonen from Finland who scored a rare success for foreign visitors to Irish links in 1999.

A busy month is in store for Carton House Golf Club near Maynooth in County Kildare. Not only will it host the professional Nissan Irish Open from May 19-22 on the Montgomerie course, but the Irish Open Amateur Championship moves from the Montgomerie course to the sister O'Meara course from May 6 - May 8. Chris Smith of Wales is the defending champion having beaten Sean McTernan (Co. Sligo) by one shot in last years event. The Irish Amateur is played as four rounds of medal strokeplay.

The Irish Seniors amateur championship will be played at Royal County Down from May 26-27. Returning to these famous links for the first time since 1985 the seniors will be severely tested and exhibitions of short game skills should be plentiful.

The June bank holiday weekend again sees the East of Ireland amateur championship at the County Louth golf club, Baltray. Mark Campbell of Stackstown returned a winning score of 282 (-6) to win the 2004 event by two shots from Robert Forsythe of Ballyclare.

The Irish Close championship, confined to Irish amateurs, will be held at Westport Golf Club from June 11th-15th. While possibly offering an easier test than last years venue (Donegal Golf Club), Westport can nonetheless be a severe test in the wind. The last major event staged here was the 2003 Irish Professionals Championship (won by Paul McGinley) when the severity of the stormy weather forced the final round to be played from the Ladies tees on some holes.

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