After she swiftly made the jump into the professional ranks, Sara Byrne added to her star appeal with an MVP display at the Curtis Cup, and that should be reflected in sponsor’s invitations on the Ladies European Tour in the coming weeks before she gets to the second stage of the LPGA Qualifying Series.
The 23-year-old Cork player went unbeaten – playing in all five sessions – at the Curtis Cup in Sunningdale and will make her professional debut on a sponsor’s invitation at this week’s Rose Ladies Open at Brocket Hall in England, an event on the LET Access Tour hosted by Justin Rose and his wife Kate.
Byrne’s hugely impressive displays – with Áine Donegan and Beth Coulter also playing significant roles in Great Britain and Ireland’s win over the United States for the first time in eight years – brought a perfect exit from her amateur career.
“Oh my God, it’s insane. This is a week of dreams. This is why we practice and why we want to play golf. Nine-year-old me wouldn’t be able to believe this moment, that’s for sure,” said Byrne straight after the win.
Four of Ireland’s top five most admired sports people in 2024 are women
A box of Pro V1s is the Christmas present of choice for many. But do they help the average golfer?
Chip-in off the old block: Harrington and Woods jnrs make first holes in one at PNC Championship
Three Irish players gain full status on Ladies European Tour next year
Later, Byrne, a graduate of the University of Miami, where she had an outstanding collegiate career, and a two-time Irish Amateur Close champion, admitted: “If I was told I was going to go undefeated, I probably wouldn’t have believed you, to be honest. It’s a really special feeling to end my amateur career.”
A dash of pink amid the greens
Fancy driving around your local course in a pink buggy? Of course you do.
And that’s the innovative raffle prize that Play in Pink are offering as part of their continuing fundraising in aid of the National Breast Cancer Research Institute in Galway.
The Play in Pink charity raised more than €550,000 last year and hopes to improve that amount this year thanks to competitions in participating golf clubs throughout Ireland.
The golf car golf buggy prize is a new addition to the effort, the fruit of Play in Pink teaming up with The Buggyman. Miriam Hand, the national co-ordinator for the charity, launched the raffle.
“Play in Pink is all about playing for good and playing for fun and certainly a pink golf buggy falls into that category,” said Hand.
Tickets for the raffle (which runs until December 31st) are priced at €20 for one, €50 for three and €100 for eight (available at www.idonate.ie/raffle/WinAGolfBuggy).
Word of mouth
“I shanked it” – three words from world number one Scottie Scheffler, who revealed his human frailty by shanking a bunker shot on his way to winning the FedEx Cup and the Tour Championship at East Lake. Scheffler’s win earned him $25 million (€22.6 million) and brought his season’s earnings including bonuses to $62.23 million. It was Scheffler’s eighth win of the year, during which he has also won the Masters and the Olympic gold medal. Data analyst Justin Ray (of the Twenty First Group) worked out that Scheffler earned $829,710 for each PGA Tour round he played this season.
In numbers
1 – Waterford’s Gary Hurley will be flying solo as the only Irish player in the field for this week’s Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre on the DP World Tour.
On this day ... September 3rd, 1995
Mathias Gronberg secured his breakthrough win on the European Tour in stylish fashion in the Canon European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre, where the 25-year-old Swede – using a new driver, an old putter and employing a new caddie – held off Barry Lane and Costantino Rocca.
So nervous had Gronberg been before the final round that he claimed not to have slept the night before. But a birdie on his third hole calmed him, he said: “I just relaxed then, looked at the mountains and enjoyed myself.”
Gronberg’s final round 69 for a total of 18-under-par 270 gave him a two-strokes winning margin over Lane, who’d narrowly missed a Ryder Cup place when the qualification finished the previous week, and Rocca.
“I thought I would have a new everything this week. I played with a new driver which gave me another 10 yards in length. I changed back to an old putter I had not used for several months. And I had a new caddie called Ken. I don’t know his other name,” said Gronberg after what was his first win on the tour.
X-Twitter Twaddle
Tough week for the “No one watches women’s golf” crowd. Thank you @KPMGWomensOpen for an amazing week. Not the final 2 scores I was looking for but a cut made is going to help me in the re-rank. Irish crowds can’t be beat – American tour professional Hannah Gregg suitably impressed with the galleries at Carton House Fairmont.
A lady called me Adam when I was picking up my lunch today. I can only assume she thought I was Adam Scott. Things are really looking up – Max Homa in a case of wishful thinking, perhaps.
Thx for inviting me in for a pic! Was incredible to celebrate with you for a moment. Brilliant to watch you all compete so hard for each other and bring the @CurtisCup back to GB&I shores for first time in a while! – Justin Rose enjoyed watching from the other side of the ropes at Sunningdale.
Know the rules
Q: In stroke play, a player removes an out-of-bounds stake that interferes with their swing. What is the ruling?
A: The player gets two penalty strokes unless they replace the stake to eliminate any improvement and restore the original conditions. Rule 8.1a and Rule 8.1c determine that a boundary object cannot be moved to improve the conditions affecting the stroke. However, the player can avoid a penalty by replacing the stake to eliminate any improvement and restore the original conditions.
In the Bag – Annabel Dimmock
KPMG Women’s Irish Open
Driver – TaylorMade Qi10 (10.5 degrees)
4-wood – TaylorMade Qi10 (16.5 degrees)
7-wood – TaylorMade Qi10 (21 degrees)
Irons – TaylorMade P790 (4-PW)
Wedges – TaylorMade MG4 (50, 54 and 58 degrees)
Putter – TaylorMade Spider Tour
Ball – TaylorMade TP5
