Challenge Tour gets set for Ireland

The stunning Champions Club at Moyvalley Hotel & Golf Resort on the outskirts of Dublin will host the fifth edition of the Challenge of Ireland on the European Challenge Tour from June 11-14, 2009. Since its inaugural event in 2005 – won by Scotland’s Marc Warren – the tournament has yet to produce a home winner, but this year’s venue does at least carry the signature of one of Ireland’s most famous golfing sons, Ulsterman Darren Clarke. Together with European Golf Design and the club’s owners, the Jackson family, Clarke helped design the Champions Club at Moyvalley Hotel & Golf Resort, which he describes as “a labour of love”. Clarke – who won the Benmore Developments Northern Ireland Masters, an event he sponsored on the Challenge Tour in 2003 – believes that Moyvalley has the potential to be “one of the premium clubs in world golf”. The 13-time European Tour champion said: “Moyvalley’s 550 acres of rolling countryside presented a fantastic challenge, and the results are spectacular. I look forward to seeing the course develop into one which golfers across the world will want to play and enjoy. “I’m especially delighted with the greens, which are among the best putting surfaces in the country. We created gentle slopes which will make players think about where to place their approach shots, especially when the greens are fast or in windy conditions. As a Champions Club member, it is our intention to roll out this club as one of the premium clubs in world golf.” Moyvalley Hotel & Golf Resort, situated on the breathtaking Balyna Estate in County Kildare, takes over the staging of the Challenge of Ireland following two successful years at Glasson Golf Hotel & Country Club, which itself succeeded Killarney Golf and Fishing Club in 2007. The 7,370 yards, par 72 course will present the Challenge Tour Members with a stern examination, according to the club’s owner Stuart Jackson. He said: “We are honoured to be chosen to stage the Challenge of Ireland presented by Moyvalley, which we hope will attract a quality field of some of the game’s brightest young talents. We are extremely proud of the course we have created in partnership with Darren Clarke, and I’m confident it will provide a fitting stage and become a popular venue on the Challenge Tour for many years to come.” Alain de Soultrait, Managing Director of the Challenge Tour, said: “The Challenge of Ireland is traditionally one of the most popular events on our Schedule, as we always receive a warm welcome in this most hospitable of countries. This year should be no different, as we move to the beautiful Moyvalley Hotel & Golf Resort. I am genuinely excited about the prospect of seeing our Members face a true test of golf next June.” Since its inception, the Challenge of Ireland has played an integral role in the development of some of the host nation’s emerging talent. In the 2007 Challenge of Ireland presented by Glasson, Gareth Maybin played as a sponsors’ invitation and was the highest home finisher in 15th position. The young Ulsterman subsequently went on to record three top ten finishes en route to 49th place in the final Rankings, thereby securing full playing privileges on the Challenge Tour last season, when he finished fourth to ensure his place in The Race to Dubai. The 28 year old has since proved his credentials with a remarkable start to his maiden European Tour campaign, losing out to Richard Sterne in a play-off at the South African Open Championship on only his fourth appearance of the season. Maybin’s compatriot Gareth Shaw will hope to follow a similar path, having finished in a tie for fourth in the 2008 Challenge of Ireland presented by Glasson – his first event as a professional – en route to securing category 11 status for the 2009 Challenge Tour Schedule.