McGee and Phelan Added to K Club

McGee at Challenge de Madrid - Getty Images

Ruaidhri McGee and Kevin Phelan have accepted invitations from Sport Ireland to compete in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open which gets underway at The K Club next Thursday (19 May). 

This allows both players to start in a full European Tour event alongside some of the leading players in the world including Masters champion Danny Willett and Ireland's own Rory McIlroy. 

McGee, whose best finish of the season so far came on the Challenge Tour in Madrid where he was tied ninth can't wait to tee it up next week. 

"It's huge. It's such a big tournament the Irish Open. Obviously being my home tournament it's great to get to play in it. It could make a huge difference to the season. You have a good week there and it could change everything. 

"Sport Ireland have helped me out for the past three years now, it's been huge. I don't if I'd be where I am now without their support. I probably couldn't have played nearly as much as I have without it. It's been a great help." 

John Treacy, CEO Sport Ireland commented "I am delighted that Sport Ireland, through its sponsorship of the Irish Open, has been able to offer invitations to two emerging Irish golfers, Kevin Phelan and Ruaidhri McGee. This will provide both players with the opportunity to play in a top class European Tour event on home soil and also to help further their careers as professional golfers." 

Both McGee and Phelan received financial assistance this year from Sport Ireland as part of the Team Ireland Golf fund which is administered by the Confederation of Golf in Ireland. 

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Team Ireland Golf Trust

The Team Ireland Golf Trust was established in 1999 by the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation to assist Irish golfers, both male and female, in the early stages of their professional careers. While Irish golfers have consistently performed with distinction in international tour events, the realisation is that Ireland does not have a sufficient number of young tour cardholders to eventually succeed the established professional players. 

The Team Ireland Golf Trust Committee was established to oversee the operation of the Trust Scheme and to consider applications received under the Scheme. The Trust Committee consists of a representative each from the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, the Irish Sports Council, Fáilte Ireland, the Irish PGA, the GUI, the ILGU, and the private sector.

Objective of the Scheme

The objective of the Scheme is to support golfers who have the potential and programme to become established players on the main international tours, such as the European Tours and US PGA Tours. The Team Ireland Golf Trust is designed to provide support, both financial and non-financial, to selected young professional golfers to help them realise their potential to perform successfully at international level.

Golfers, who are being supported by the Trust, will be expected to show and maintain a reasonable level of progression in their performances on a yearly basis. This level of progress will determine future funding decisions by the Trust.

Services for golfers

Golfers on the scheme have access to the sports science and medicine network already provided by the Irish Sports Council to high performance athletes on the International Carding scheme. Access to these services is administered by the National Coaching and Training Centre in Limerick.

Link with GUI National Academy

In an initiative which commenced in 2006, golf trust golfers will be able to access the Golfing Union of Ireland’s National Academy facilities at Carton House Estate in Maynooth, Co. Kildare.

The following facilities will be available as follows,

• Unlimited use of golf balls on the Driving Range

• Use of short game area and reserved grass tee

• Use of the indoor/outdoor training rooms which are equipped with the most modern swing analysis video equipment (subject to availability)

• Access to putting green

• Use of the Synthetic putting green (built by TourGreens)

www.irishsportscouncil.ie