Kingspan Concra Wood Open - Key Holes

The Kingspan Concra Wood Open gets underway on Lough Muckno in Co. Monaghan, Ireland on Wednesday.

It is event number eight of the 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour season and with another £10,000 cheque on offer to the winner it is all to play for in the race to earn a card for next season’s Challenge Tour.

Ahead of the event we spoke to Concra Wood’s head professional Conor McKenna and he has picked out his five ‘Key Holes’ on the course.

Three

Par: 4; Yards: 385

“The third is very much downhill from the tee with a view out onto Lough Muckno. It is 385 yards but doesn’t play as long down the hill. It’s a hole where you can be rewarded for risk.”

Four

Par: 5; Yards: 594

“The fourth hole is a double-dog-leg par five. It’s quite a long one at 594 yards. Generally there aren’t many golfers who hit it in two shots; most take it to the top of the hill and then have a third shot across the water to get to the green.”

Eight

Par: 4; Yards: 405

“The eighth is a very-good par four. It is 405 yards off the back sticks and has an elevated tee from which you go downhill and then up into an elevated green. We have bunkers on the right and left of the fairway and very heavy rough on the right. It is a great golf hole. The green has three tiers so it will give a bit of hassle during the week!”

Fifteen

Par: 5; Yards: 514

“There is an elevated tee but you have to hit over the Lough. The carry over the water is probably just short of 200 yards, so it is an exciting hole. We have water down the right side of the fairway but it isn’t the longest par five, you can get to the green in two if you get your drive away. If the players are brave enough to take on the tee shot then you can be rewarded for that risk.”

Sixteen

Par: 4; Yards: 467

“The sixteenth is a long par four. The tee box is out on a peninsula and you have a lot of carry, about 180 yards, over the water. There are bunkers on the left hand side and then a long shot into the green with Lough Muckno running alongside the right of the fairway. Again we have a two-tier green so it is going to be one of the major holes coming back in.”

Round 1 Tee-Times

Harrington Receives Special Honour

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Three-time Major Champion, Padraig Harrington has been honoured by Special Olympics – the world’s largest sports organisation for people with intellectual disabilities - at the Castle Stuart Golf Links, Inverness ahead of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, in appreciation of his tireless commitment to Special Olympics athletes and their families. 

Special Olympics Great Britain athlete David Mitchell officially presented Padraig with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver 1995 Commemorative Special Olympics Silver Coin on behalf of the global Special Olympics family in recognition of his dedication to the movement. Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of President John F. Kennedy and Founder of Special Olympics, who was born on this day July 10th 1921, is the only woman to have her portrait appear, during her lifetime, on a US coin. 

Since becoming a Special Olympics Global Ambassador in May 2010, Padraig has generously donated his time and expertise to the Special Olympics Movement across the world by conducting golf clinics for athletes and coaches, most recently at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. 

Padraig also proudly ‘Wears the Laces’ for Special Olympics on the golfing circuit. 

The red shoe laces have recently captured the attention of golf commentators and fans, helping to raise awareness for Special Olympics and promote a message of respect, inclusion and acceptance for all people with intellectual disabilities. Padraig will again ‘Wear the Laces’ this week during the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open.

Harrington said: “The work that I do for the athletes of Special Olympics is something I am proud of and I will continue to try to help and inspire them to be the best athletes they can be. I am just happy to be able to play a part in the organisation which changes lives every day for people with intellectual disabilities and I am very pleased to have received the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Commemorative Coin today. She made a significant difference to the lives of millions of people across the world.”

Mary Davis, Regional President Special Olympics Europe Eurasia, commented: “Padraig is a remarkable Ambassador for Special Olympics and it is particularly poignant that he receives the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Commemorative Coin today, the date of her birthday. Through Padraig our athletes get the opportunity to meet one of their golfing heroes and learn from him the importance of staying focused and the values of hard work and practice. He inspires the athletes he meets to be the best that they can be and we thank Padraig for his unwavering support and generosity.”

Concra Wood - The Course - EuroPro Tour

Following Elliot Saltman’s course-record 61 to win the Audi Cork Irish Masters at Fota Island last week, the 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour remains in Ireland for the Kingspan Concra Wood Open.

Concra Wood Golf Club was designed by Christy O’Connor Junior and Christy O’Connor Senior and opened in 2008. Located on Lough Muckno in Co. Monaghan, the course is entwined with the water and offers a solid test of golf.

Ahead of the event we spoke to Concra Wood’s head professional Conor McKenna to get an ‘Inside Track’ on the course.

Concra Wood

“We are in a great location. The site itself is on Lough Muckno, which is the most beautiful setting. We are on a 240-acre site which was Concra Wood Forest before it was the golf club.”

Course Condition

“We have been working hard on the course. The weather hasn’t been favourable over the last month or two but the fairways don’t take long to drain off. The players will enjoy it here; the location and the course with the challenges we have for them. We have some good tee positions and pin positions that will excite the players.”

Weather Watch

“The course is playing a little bit longer because of the weather. There will be some long second shots in and some tough rescues, so the players will have to be on the ball to score well. Our course record is four under par, and that was set by Simon Thornton, the European Tour player, so nobody comes here and takes the course apart. During the week we want to provide a stern challenge for the players.”

Good Score

“As an aggregate score I would say we are looking at about six under par for the three days. It’s going to be tough. The fairways are generous but if you miss them the rough is quite high at the moment and it is also fairly wet. Off the back sticks the course measures over 6,600 metres.”

Top Tip

“It’s very open off the tee but you have to get your distance correct on the second shot. The greens are very elevated and some of our greens are absolutely massive. The most important thing is the second shot, and then anybody who putts well will do well.”

The Kingspan Concra Wood Open gets underway on Wednesday. 

Spectators can take advantage of FREE entry to the event throughout the week and Junior Golf Ireland will be onsite during the tournament to offer free coaching to young golfers

Thornton Talks Straight at Concra Wood

European Tour player Simon Thornton has warned competitors playing the Kingspan Concra Wood Open that straight hitting will be required to succeed at the Christy O’Connor Jnr designed course in Castleblayney.

Newcastle Co Down based Thornton, who recently finished 33rd at the Irish Open at Royal Portrush, holds the course record at Concra Wood; a 68 carded in a PGA Sprint event in 2010.

“Concra Wood is one of the best courses in the country – full stop. It is absolutely fantastic,” said Thornton.

“The players will have to find the fairways off the tee. The fairways are not very wide but at the same time there are bail-out areas. It is important to know where you cannot hit it off the tee.

“The second shots are not overly difficult but there is often no point in hitting with the driver all the time. Sometimes you are going to have to lay back and hit full shots into the greens which are superb putting surfaces.”

Elliot Saltman’s stunning final round of 61 at Fota Island last week saw the Scotsman surge to the top of the Order of Merit, with Hampshire’s Martin LeMesurier just £8.33 behind in second.

Paul Reed is currently third on the Order of Merit and will be looking for further success in Ireland after previous Tour wins at Fota Island (2011) and Galgorm Castle earlier this season.

Entry is free for all spectators and young golfers can avail of free coaching lessons courtesy of Junior Golf Ireland, who will be on site during tournament week.

The Open Prize Money Unchanged

The winner of next week's Open Championship at Royal Lytham will earn £900,000 - the same as Darren Clarke at Sandwich last summer.

The total purse of £5million has also been kept the same, with the runner-up picking up £520,000 and the top 10 also walking away with six-figure cheques.

Everybody surviving the halfway cut will earn at least £9,000, which is more than double the amount Tony Jacklin won for lifting the Claret Jug on the course in 1969.

Seve Ballesteros' two victories in 1979 and 1988 were worth £15,000 and £80,000 respectively, while David Duval collected £600,000 on Lytham's last staging of the championship 11 years ago.

American Webb Simpson is still officially in the field for next week even though he has been saying ever since his US Open triumph last month that he does not intend playing with his wife due to give birth just afterwards.

There could be more than the usual 156-strong field this time and because of all the exempt players current first reserve Ben Crane would not automatically replace Simpson if he does pull out as expected.