Flogas Irish Junior Golf Open tees up for exciting 2018 Series
L to R: Paul Ruegg, senior marketing executive, Flogas and Michael Gallagher, founder with Ollie McEvoy (7) from Ballycastle Golf Club, the 2017 winner and recipient of the Gary Player Trophy at the launch of the 2018 Flogas Irish Junior Open Series.
Ollie McEvoy, winner of the 2017 Irish Junior Open Series. He was aged seven at the time of his win.
The 2018 Flogas Junior Open Golf Series is now open for entries from male and female players aged between 5 – 18 years from all over Ireland and beyond. With international broadcast coverage and an impressive 22 million mentions across all social media platforms last year, it’s now one of the biggest events of its type in Europe and attracts the cream of up and coming young golfing talent. The 2017 champion was Ollie McEvoy (then seven years old) from Ballycastle Golf Club, who was presented with the Gary Player Trophy, and then went on to compete and win in other world class competitions that year.
Paul Ruegg, senior marketing executive, Flogas, said, “Last year’s Series was excellent and our congratulations to Ollie McEvoy on his fantastic performance, he’s a real talent in the making. With an expected 1,000 entries for 2018 from all around the world, it’s surely shaping up to be even better than last year and we’re delighted to be supporting it.”
2017 winner Ollie McEvoy, who’s now turned eight, was at the recent photocall to launch the 2018 Flogas Irish Junior Open Series alongside Paul Ruegg and Series founder, PGA professional Michael Gallagher director of mgprogolf.com. Ollie said, “Holing a 30- foot winning putt on the last green in front of the BBC cameras last year was a dream come true. Taking home the Gary Player Trophy and then getting a message from Gary himself, one of the greatest golfers of all time, is something I will never forget. I can’t wait to defend my title this year.”
This year, the Series will take place across six top class golfing facilities in Ireland including Rory McIlroy's Holywood GC and the Heritage Golf Resort, where some of the world’s finest golfers have competed in the Seve Ballesteros Trophy and Irish hopefuls will find themselves teeing off against competitors from the UK, Spain, Belgium, Dubai and the USA.
Michael Gallagher said, “The support of Gary Player has allowed me to promote the Flogas Irish Junior Open Golf Series to millions around the globe and this year I plan on making the Series the biggest and best to date. Thanks to the support of Flogas and other generous sponsors, I am in a fortunate position to donate funds and help raise awareness of our chosen charity, Sands NI, which supports parents affected by stillbirth and neonatal death.”
Michael Gallagher confirmed that there will be over £50,000/€57,000 in goodie bags and prizes to be won in 2018, so no competitor will go home empty-handed. There is no prior qualifying to participate in any of the events and there is also a separate adult/junior golf tournament on Sun 17th June at Knightsbrook Golf Club in Co. Meath.
Irish Junior Open Competition Dates and Venues
- Ulster: Mon 16 July, Holywood golf club, Co. Down
- Munster: Mon 23 July, Dundrum golf resort, Co. Tipperary
- Connacht: Wed 25 July, Galway Bay golf resort, Co. Galway
- Leinster: Tues 31 July, Heritage golf resort, Killenard, Co. Laois
- Masters: Wed 15 August, Tulfarris golf resort, Co. Wicklow
- Final: Mon 27/Tues 28 August, Killymoon Golf Club, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone
Adult/Junior Golf Tournament, Sun 17th June, Knightsbrook golf club, Co. Meath
For more information, go to www.Irishjunioropen.com. Early booking is advisable for all events as numbers are limited.