Hoey Cut at Galgorm Castle

Michael Hoey missed the cut at the Northern Ireland Open at Galgorm Castle after a four-over-par 76 left him well down the field on four over par.

Hoey called a two-shot penalty on himself as he carded a triple-bogey seven at the 11th, his second hole.

Portrush's Alan Dunbar (74) also missed the cut by one shot on level par.

Dutchman Dean Huizing leads on 11 under while Dermot McElroy (70) and Jonathan Caldwell (69) are the best placed NI players on five under.

Jen Dantop and Ross McGowan are three behind Huizing in tied second with four players a further shot back.

Former Walker Cup player Caldwell, from Clandeboye, moved into the running thanks to a 69.

Ballymena golfer Dermot McElroy (70) and Michael McGeady (72) are also five under.

Gareth Shaw (72) and Northern Ireland amateur Reeve Whitson (69) made the cut on two under.

Former British amateur champion Dunbar failed to make the cut following a disappointing 74.

Richard Kilpatrick and Paul Cutler both registered rounds of 72 to finish four over.

Hoey, a five-time European Tour winner, told reporters that he was "massively disappointed" not to be involved in the weekend's action after a round in which "everything that could go wrong did go wrong".

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Cutler Joins the Diamond Paid Ranks

Just 12 days after their magnificent victory over America, three of Great Britain & Ireland’s Walker Cup heroes will take part in the Austrian GolfOpen presented by Lyoness at the Diamond Country Club.

Tom Lewis, Paul Cutler and Andy Sullivan have all joined the paid ranks after impressive amateur careers, and all three hope to have a first cheque in hand come Sunday night.

Lewis, who shot to fame when he carded the lowest ever amateur round at The Open Championship to lead after the opening round at Sandwich, anticipates a steep learning curve ahead.

“I’m looking forward to making my professional debut,” he said.

“I am feeling a little bit of pressure but I think that is just a desire to do well for everyone that has supported me, my new sponsors and myself.

“At the same time I know that it is going to be a tough week and that it is all down to me - if I play badly then I will be going home for the weekend but if I can play well then you just never know what can happen.

“I feel that I need to do well. It is different now that I am professional and this is my life -  The Open and the experiences I had there were great and have given me a lot of confidence to turn professional and try to compete at the highest level.

“It would be nice to get a cheque at the end of the week – I am hoping that I can get a few cheques from my seven events so that I can make enough money to get my European Tour card straight away.”

A place in the top 115 of The Race to Dubai will probably require Lewis to make around €250,000, with €1,000,000 prize fund available this week.

Cutler took three and a half points out of four at Royal Aberdeen, and the 22 year old Northern Irishman has already shown he is capable of performing on the big stage with a 21st place finish at the Irish Open.

“I’m pretty excited to be here and probably a little bit nervous as well,” he said.

“There is a different buzz to the professional events and I can really feel that this week. You just have to look around to see what the standard is going to be like on Tour.

“There are no bad players in the field and you have Major Champions, Ryder Cup players and guys with loads of Tour victories so it is going to be tough. That is very different from what we are used to but I am looking forward to the challenge.

“I am just trying to look after myself and hopefully play well this week. The Walker Cup was a great experience for me and obviously playing well personally and the Team winning made it a really great week for me. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind since then but I am ready to get going now.

“I’m looking forward to it and hopefully I can repay the people who are supporting me. I have received some great support from the Irish Sports Council, through the Team Ireland Golf Trust already and that is really going to help me make the best possible start to my career.”


Veteran Phil Morbey is on the bag for the Portstewart man this week.

England’s Sullivan also has European Tour experience – he made the cut in the Czech Republic after narrowly missing out on the weekend at the Open de España.

“I’m just really excited to be out here,” he said. “I got a taste of pro life in Spain and the Czech Republic recently but I just can’t wait get going properly.

“I have been asked a lot of there is a difference but to be honest it doesn’t feel any different. It will be different on Sunday night if I have nice cheque in my hand!

“It has always been a dream of mine to be a professional golfer. This is what I have wanted ever since I was a kid – to play on The European Tour against some of the best in the world. In that respect I am really excited and just buzzing. I just want to get going.”

One player still competing as an amateur this week is Manuel Trappel, the Austrian who won this year’s European Amateur Championship.

Drawn with Lewis and Cutler for the first two rounds, the 24 year old admits he can’t wait to feature in a tournament that features some of golf’s biggest names.

“It really is a great honour for me to be playing here this week,” he said. “It will be good to play with Tom and Paul in the first two rounds, but just to be here, to be in a tournament along with players like Padraig Harrington, John Daly and Miguel Angel Jiménez is something that I could not have dreamed of a few months ago.”

Paul Cutler Makes a Good Start

Paul Cutler showed a welcome return to form to lead the Irish charge in the first qualifying round of the British Amateur Championship on the Lancashire coast yesterday.

The Portstewart star, anxious for a good performance this week to cement his place in the Walker Cup side to face the Americans in September, fired a one-over-par 72 at Hesketh yesterday.

Barring a disaster at nearby Hillside today, he will take his spot in the match-play phase.

He had back-to-back bogeys on six and seven as he got to the turn in 37 but he got his act together to birdie the 186-yard 11th and then after a succession of pars birdied the long 17th. Cutler dropped a stroke at the last but was still relieved to finish on 72.

"It has not been the best of seasons for me so far but now I feel good and determined to recover my form," he said.

Moyola Park's Chris Selfridge had a 74 at Hesketh. He should make it into the match-play stages.

Garth McGee of Malone also posted a 74, with a double-bogey six at the ninth.

Ballymena teenager Dermot McElroy took 78 and cannot afford slip-ups today. He suffered a double-bogey six at the third and had three bogeys on the bounce on the homeward half.

Headfort's Rory McNamara will also have to hold his nerve after a 78 at Hillside.

Mournes' Reeve Whitsun carded 75 at Hesketh, while Craig Martin had a 77 at Hillside and Rathmore's Alan Dunbar was a huge disappointment in taking 80 at Hillside.

Sean Ryan and Jeff Hopkins are seemingly on their way out after 84 and 83 respectively yesterday.

Carlow's John Greene came in with a 75 to be the best of the Irish at Hillside.

New Zealander Landyn Edwards leads the way at Hillside after a 68 and Adrian Otaegui also with a 68 tops the leaderboard at Hesketh by two.