Michael Hoey completes a hat-trick of years as Tournament Ambassador for the Northern Ireland Open in Association with Sphere Global and Ulster Bank this week with his enthusiasm for both Northern Irish golf and the important role the European Challenge Tour plays in players’ development unabated.
The 36 year old has been involved in the tournament ever since its inception in 2013 and has seen it grow to become the best-attended event on the Challenge Tour, with more than 30,000 fans turning out last year and more expected this week.
Since graduating from the Challenge Tour, Hoey has won five times on The European Tour, and he is excited by the prospect of being joined by more of his countrymen in the near future.
“We haven’t always had that much depth in Northern Irish golf,” he said. “I know we’ve had the tip of the iceberg in Rory (McIlroy), Graeme (McDowell) and Darren (Clarke) and it’s been unbelievable, but myself and Gareth Maybin have been the only others on The European Tour.
“We need a few more additions to that I think, but it looks like we’re going to get them pretty soon. Chris Selfridge has just turned professional and has done great. It looks like he’s going to be on The European Tour very soon and certainly he’s going to be on the Challenge Tour because he’s done well enough.
“Young Tom McKibbin (pictured below) just won the Under 12 World Junior Championships over in America and he’s played the pro-am this week, so he’s a great addition to our field.
“He’s doing what Rory did when he was that age by winning that, which is awesome. My coach Johnny Foster has a lot of young talent, not just Tom but a lot of other teenagers coming through.
“There are a lot of Northern Irish guys coming through, be they from Tom’s age through to Chris.
“I’ve played Challenge Tour myself so I know what it’s like. There’s a lot of good young players this week who will be wanting to get onto The European Tour, some of the older guys who will want to get back on, so there’s a lot of different perspectives this week from young guys to old guys to local talent to people from all over the world.
“I got on The European Tour in 2006 from finishing in the Challenge Tour top ten in 2005 but then my game wasn’t good enough to stay there.
“I came back onto the Challenge Tour in 2008, won a couple of times, was around 20th but not quite inside the top 20, but playing on the Challenge Tour for those years really helped me when I got back on The European Tour.
“But the standard on the Challenge Tour is really good and those years taught me a lot, having somewhere that’s very competitive and you play four rounds of golf.
“It’s a massively important thing and the standard’s getting better every week, the scoring’s really good and it’s a great tour.”
There's a lot of Northern Irish guys coming through and the Northern Ireland Open has a great atmosphere - it feels like a European Tour event with the crowds we get
Hoey comes into this week showing good form after reaching the quarter finals at last week’s Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Matchplay, though he admits he is more concerned with making this week’s event as successful as possible than any personal glory.
“My golf is not that important this week,” he said. “Obviously I’d like to do as well as I can, but it’s a different position to be in as Tournament Ambassador, and the money doesn’t count towards The European Tour.
“Three years ago the guys up here got in contact with us and needed help from the government and needed a named player.
“I was able, because I was playing on The European Tour, to use my name and help with some funding for the tournament and I think that’s made a big difference, and I’m fortunate to have been in a position to be able to do that.
“Getting all the sponsors involved has been difficult, but Ulster Bank and all the other smaller sponsors have been great, and this year Sphere Global are involved as well which is fantastic, they’re a really successful company.
“It feels like a European Tour event with the crowds we get. It’s a great atmosphere if the weather’s decent, though it doesn’t matter how bad the weather is because a lot of people will always come out to watch. It’s one of the premier events on the Challenge Tour so I’m looking forward to it.”
