The FORE Ireland team have launched a new website whichhighlights the additional services the team will provide this year and the extended areas of activity.
FORE Ireland was formed in 2009 by Irish PGA players, Michael Collins, Ted Higgins Jnr, David Mortimer and Mark Staunton with a view to preparing better for the European Tour Qualifying School.
In 2010 FORE Ireland team has added Irish PGA members for the new season including Philip Walton who has represented Ireland at every level both Amateur and Professional. Last year Michael Collins reached the Qualifying School Stage 2 in Arcos Gardens in Jerez last November and missed the cut by three shots for the final stage in PGA Catalunya. In the Irish Order of Merit Collins finished in eighth place and secured a place in the 3 Irish Open in Killarney later this year. Collins also finished 40th in the 2009 PGA EUROPRO Tour Order of Merit.
Mark Staunton participated in Stage 1 of 2009 Qualifying School but did not make it further and is now focussed on progressing further this season. On the EUROPRO Tour Order of Merit Staunton finished in 67th place and also secured 13th place in the Irish PGA Order of Merit last season. In the Irish PGA Order of Merit David Mortimer finished 20th with Ted Higgins in 31st place.Neither player competed in the 2009 European Tour Qualifying School.
Philip Walton played for Great Britain & Ireland in the Walker Cup in 1981 and 1983 before turning professional in 1983. At professional level Walton has represented Ireland in the 1990 Alfred Dunhill Cup and the World Cup in 1995. On the European Tour Philip Walton won three titles including the Peugeot Open de France, the Murphy’s English Open and the Catalonia Open the same year.
In 1995 at Oakhill in the United States Philip Walton secured the win for Europe in the 1995 Ryder Cup when playing against Jay Haas in the penultimate singles, he two putted the final green for a very memorable win. Walton finished 21st in the 2009 Irish PGA Order of Merit. The objective of FORE Ireland is to support Irish golfers fulfil their playing aspirations at all levels including the European Tour and the Seniors Tours. The FORE Ireland players have embraced the team concept as they benefit from shared playing experiences and competing in events together.
The team currently has a panel of players working on a range of playing objectives.
The bad news of the shock defeat of Real Madrid in the last sixteen of the Champions League at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night by Olympiqie Lyonnais, will only be made worse if the current holders Barcelona retain the trophy in the 2010 final on Saturday May 22nd. If the Catalan club were to do so it would occur at the home of Real Madrid, the Santiago Bernabeu stadium
Indeed it was such ironies that loomed most large in the main pages of Spanish Sports Daily Marca in their post match reports and opinion columns on Thursday following the exit of Real Madrid
For the sixth consecutive season the Madrid team exited the tournament short of the quarter finals with their last victory now as far as back as 2002 in Hampden Park. On that night it was the magic of Zinedine Zidane that turned the game against Bayer Leverkusen and secured the Spanish Champions 9th title. Since that May night Real Madrid have failed to reach the quarter finals for six successive seasons and the last time the club even reached that stage was the 2004 season.
Since the departure of Vicente del Bosque in 2003 the club has failed to reach the final of the Champions League and secured only two La Liga titles in the intervening years.
In his four seasons in charge Del Bosque managed the club through its most successful spell in modern history, steering the club to two UEFA Champions League titles in 2000 and 2002, two domestic La Liga titles in 2001 and 2003, a Spanish Supercup in 2001, a UEFA Super Cup in 2002, the Intercontinental Cup in 2002. Not since the great Madrid sides of the 1950s and 1960s did the club experience so much success.
Over the past seven years the club has hired nine managers with the latest being Manuel Pellegrini who replaced Bernd Schuster a year ago.
His success with the lesser resources at Villarreal attracted the attention of the Real Madrid Club President, Florentino Perez, as he set off a new "Project" in the 2009/10 season to re-establish Real Madrid at the forefront of European football. With the recruitment of Brazilian Kaka from Milan, Ronaldo from Manchester United, Lyon's Benzema, Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa from Liverpool, Real Madrid racked a bill of two hundred and fifty million just on players. When UEFA granted the Champions League final to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium the club then began to feel it was their destiny to secure their 10th title.
But on a cold Wednesday night in Madrid a stubborn Olympique Lyonnais confronted the big names of Real Madrid and brought that sense of destiny to a sudden halt.
With a vigour that highlighted that the French League may be a force at Champions League level and with the aim of reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in four seasons, Lyon’s determination in Madrid was evident from the start of the second half. With Guti the main playmaker for Real throughout the first forty-five minutes the two personnel changes made by Lyon's little known manger, Claude Puel, proved key.
From the moment Sweden's Kim Kallstrom and Frenchman Maxine Gonalons entered the fray at half time the easy flowing pace of the game changed and the balance of power in favour of the home side ebbed away as the second half progressed.
With two goal chances wasted in the first half Real Madrid then started to struggle and the more industrious Lyon midfield caused the Spanish side to lose their offensive shape and left defending their own goal for large sections of the second half. As time ticked away fear spread through the Spanish team as they knew that a solitary goal by Lyon would end their chances of progress. As each attack was mounted the endless running by Cesar Delgado up front for the French side increased the sense of siege that hushed the home crowd.
When the goal finally came from Pjanic on seventy five minutes a sense of despair took hold at the Santiago Bernabeu and the Madrid fans began to face the reality that there might not be a tenth title this year on home soil.
Despite two late changes for Madrid, Raul for Kaka and Van der Vaart for Granero, Real were unable to breach Lloris goal and the Lyon side defended with commitment in the dying minutes. As the final whistle loomed the Real Madrid players sensed the inevitable as did the fans, many of whom left in their hundreds ahead of full time.
In the post match analysis it was left to veteran Guti to summarise the reality without subtlety.
"It was a shame. It has been shown that in big games we do not kill the matches," said the long-serving midfielder of the 1-1 first knockout round draw at the Santiago Bernabéu which helped Lyon through 2-1 overall. "The solution is to be more of a team instead of many individuals. Now we can only think of La Liga, which is what we have [left]. We did not start the second half as we should."
“It is the sixth year in a row we have gone out at the last sixteen stage. It is really devastating. Every year it is just as painful and disappointing.”
Claude Puel, Lyon coach
It's a great achievement, especially considering how the game started. We escaped a disaster in the first half. The early goal lifted Madrid's confidence and put us on the back foot. That meant the first half was tough, and half-time was too. [Jean-Alain] Boumsong and [Jean II] Makoun had to be substituted with groin injuries, and Lisandro also had a problem but he was able to last the whole game. The substitutes were key, they did a fine job. We changed the system and totally reshuffled the team. Mire [Pjanić] moved up to support Lisandro and that made us more fluid. On top of that, he scored the goal.
“The first leg was good and we did the same job in the second leg. We were in trouble as they played quickly from deep, and had a bit of luck when they hit the post. We changed the system in the second half and played ten metres higher as Madrid were tiring having produced lots of effort before the break. We were more fluid, there was more quality in our game. We could play wider and made them run as they enjoy having the ball at their feet. When you look at the second half, we deserved to go through. This squad is writing its own story. We must now go on.”
Manuel Pellegrini, Madrid coach
“The first responsibility is mine, but we have to overcome this blow and keep fighting for the Liga title. It is a very big setback. We played well in the first half but had two chances and failed to convert them. After the break the team were growing anxious until the Lyon goal came. It was a dream for all of us to play the final at the Bernabéu. The players are hurt by a painful elimination, but we have to lift our mood and keep working. That's all I can do; keep working. It's a big blow but we must look ahead.”
European Tour players Peter Lawrie and Damien McGrane took the honours in Des Smyth’s president’s prize at the final outing of the Links Golfing Society at Royal Dublin last week.
Second to Lawrie was FORE Ireland’s David Mortimer with a 72, and Frank Leonard from Knightsbrook a shot further back on 73. Jim Carvill (Warrenpoint), off plus one, was best of a trio on 74 that included Jude Doyle from St Anne’s and local Joe Enright, off eight.
McGrane’s 69 in the gross was three clear of Ashbourne’s John Dwyer, with Eamonn Brady from Clontarf on 73. Stuart Taylor from The Island took fourth place from Gary Cullen from Beaverstown, and Robert Giles from Greenore after all three finished on 74.
David Mortimer and Enright also figured in the team prize with Tony Diamond on an eight-under-par 64. Pat O’Brien from Laytown and Bettystown won the gross in the over 50s, with Terry Lilly from Slade Valley taking the nett.
Fore Ireland was created earlier last season to support Irish professional and amateur golfers fulfil their ultimate ambitions, which in some instances is playing on the European Tour. By introducing a team element and a sense of camaraderie in what is an individual sport, the players work together towards reaching their objective, which each believe has been helped dealing with the challenges.
In 2009 the players with FORE Ireland include Michael Collins, David Mortimer, Mark Staunton and Ted Higgins Jnr.
For further information on the players go to www.foreireland.com.
The Handa Irish Senior Open presented by Fáilte Ireland returns to the European Senior Tour schedule in 2010 when Carton House, in Maynooth, Co. Kildare, hosts the 14th edition of the tournament from June 11-13.
Fáilte Ireland, which has supported the Senior Tour event since its inception at St Margarets Golf Club in 1997, continues its long term association with the tournament and is joined by a new title sponsor for 2010, the International Sports Promotion Society (ISPS), represented by Founding
Chairman, Dr.Haruhisa Handa.
In addition to the Irish Senior Open, Fáilte Ireland also supports The 3 Irish Open on The European Tour, which Carton House hosted in 2005 and 2006, tournaments won by Stephen Dodd and Thomas Björn respectively.
The leading Senior Tour players will tackle the stunning Montgomerie Course at the Kildare venue, designed by 2010 European Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie, which is one of two Championship courses at Carton House created in conjunction with European Golf Design.
They will be looking to join an illustrious roll call of former champions, including Tommy Horton, winner of the inaugural event in 1997, two-time winner Seiji Ebihara (2001 and 2002), Carl Mason (2004), Ryder Cup Captain Sam Torrance (2005) and Costantino Rocca (2007).
Ian Woosnam, who led Europe to victory in The Ryder Cup in Ireland in 2006, returned to the Emerald Isle last year to add his name to the list, staging a remarkable comeback to defeat American Bob Boyd in a play-off at Ballybunion Golf Club having started the final round six shots off the pace.
The 2010 edition of the Irish Seniors Open sees , Japanese philanthropist Dr Handa, the Chairman of the International Sports Promotion Society (ISPS), - the title sponsor, extend his growing relationship with the Senior Tour.
It is the third tournament so far on the 2010 Senior Tour schedule to receive the backing of Dr Handa and ISPS; the other two being the Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters presented by The Stapleford Forum and the Chang Thailand Senior Masters 2010 presented by ISPS.
Charles Perring, Deputy Managing Director of the European Senior Tour, said: “The Irish Senior Open is one of the cornerstones of the European Senior Tour and I’m delighted that its legacy continues in 2010 with the patronage of Dr Handa and our long term partner Failte Ireland, with Carton House hosting us for the first time at their wonderful facility. The honour roll of former champions speaks volumes of the player quality on show and with close proximity to Dublin, we hope to showcase the best of Senior golf to an enthusiastic Irish gallery.”
Martin Cullen TD, Irish Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, said: "Golfing in Ireland has long been a major tourism attraction and the Irish Senior Open is a key part of Fáilte Ireland’s excellent golf tourism promotional activity.
“I wish to congratulate Conor Mallaghan and his team at Carton House on their selection as host venue for 2010. I particularly welcome ISPS represented by Dr Handa as the new title sponsor. I wish the European Senior Tour, Dr Handa and Carton House every success in their new partnership."
Redmond O’Donoghue, Chairman Fáilte Ireland said: “On behalf of Fáilte Ireland, the national tourism development authority, I welcome the news today that ISPS is the new title sponsor of the Handa Irish Senior Open at Carton House. We are delighted to support this key element of the European Tour’s 2010 schedule as part of our overall golf marketing strategy and as part of our long and established relationship with the European Tour. Golf is one of Ireland’s greatest tourist attractions, contributing in excess of €100 million to the economy. Importantly, when golfers come to Ireland, many also take part in other activities, which provides the opportunity to promote Ireland, not only as a golfing destination but also as a holiday destination of choice.”
David Webster, General Manager of Carton House, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming the European Senior Tour to Carton House and are very proud to be chosen to host what promises to be a very exciting and enjoyable event for both players and spectators alike. We look forward to welcoming and extending our hospitality to all our guests who share our passion for golf.”
Dr Handa, Chairman of ISPS, said: “The Irish Senior Open is a tournament of huge prestige and we are extremely pleased to be title sponsor of such a high profile competition in our first year of association with the European Senior Tour.
“Everyone at ISPS is thrilled about this new partnership which will help to further showcase the incredible work we do in aid of the International Blind Golf Association (IBGA) – a worthy charity.”
“We are very much looking forward to welcoming some of Senior golf’s biggest names to Carton House for the event. Their involvement throughout the tournament week will undoubtedly help to further raise awareness of our work with the IBGA.”
The Carton House estate is home to the headquarters of The Golfing Union of Ireland, the oldest Golfing Union in the world, and the GUI Academy which opened in 2006 and is the premiere teaching facility in the country
The magnitude of Carlos Sainz achievement in the Dakar in recent days captures the sheer ability and tenacity of the man Spaniard, who for decades has been Spain's leading sportsman, equally as renowned for his fanatical support of Real Madrid. Although competing in sport overshadowed by the national obsession with La Liga, Sainz has maintained a profile in his country by competing at the highest level of the world rallying which has made him akin to royalty.
Having started four years ago to compete in the gruelling Dakar rally, he has now achieved his objective on the fourth attempt and emerged victorious once again in a rally event. In a very careful and calm race this year Carlos won the race in Argentina by two minutes, making up for some of the risks of previous years. So when he finally reached the service park in his Volkswagen Toureg last weekend his face was lit up with elation.
On landing in Madrid Airport on Tuesday morning, totally exhausted but delighted, he first thanked the Spanish public that had supported him, saying he was unable to deal with all the text messages and phone calls from well wishers.
Although he came to Ireland in the seventies to learn English in Bunclody, County Wexford, he stills finds English hard at times but has fond memories of his days in this country. I came to know him in Spain many years ago through work and a few years later when a close friend wrote his biography. To this day we have all remained friends and the reason is simple; Carlos Sainz is an absolute gentleman. However he is a ferocious competitor, with an ice cool streak along with the suave good looks of a movie star.
Having met him on many occasions I came to know you never underestimate his ambition, determination or stubbornness. Even on a golf course, he measures distances and angles in detail before striking the ball majestically with metres of the pin. He is also a former Spanish squash champion.
In everything he approaches Sainz absorbs every meticulous detail and his preparation is always to perfection as he believes that if you don’t put in the work the results won’t come.
For many years he was a team mate of the more flamboyant Colin McRae and with the Ford World Rally team, Carlos Sainz would arrive for the Shakedown prior to every rally and test the car setup for hours. In contrast Colin McRae would do a few runs then chat with the team engineers before heading for the motor home or hotel on his mountain bike.
in his wake would be Sainz still asking the mechanics to set a variety of options for brakes tyres or dampers in a multitude of alternatives so he could try each one before going home exhausted for the night. His focus on hard worked and graft still remain to this day despite enough money to live a very comfortable celebrity lifestyle.
Many times he drove McRae mad even though both men had God given talent behind the wheel of a world rally car. They approached their roles very differently and McRae was always the more flamboyant oozing talent effortlessly. Even on the Dakar Rally their styles were different with the Scotsman making his debut with Nissan in January 2004, where he scored two stage wins on his way to a memorable finish.
He returned to the Dakar in 2005 and was fastest on two of the first three stages in Morocco, before crashing out of the rally towards the end of stage six. So heavy was the impact of the crash it left him unconscious for several minutes.
Sadly the rivalry was cut short in September 2007 when Colin McRae crashed his helicopter near his home in Lanarkshire perishing along with his son Johnny and two family friends.
With comparisons always unfair, the one difference that always struck me about Carlos was his philosophical approach to sporting success and failure. None more so than in 1998 when he was only 500 metres from the finish in Margam Park in the RAC Rally about to secure his third world title when the engine of his Toyota failed leaving him unable to complete the race within sight of the finish.
His rival at the time was Tommi Makkinen who was on his way to Heathrow when he got the call from his team to say Sainz had suffered mechanical problems leaving the Finn to retain his title despite crashing out the previous day. In the hotel later that night Carlos was dining amidst his family and friends discussing his misfortune without rancour or bitterness.
His calmness had even been more obvious earlier that same day when he restrained his enraged co driver Luis Moya after he smashed the rear windscreen of the Toyota Corolla with his helmet.
In career spanning three decades Carlos started out with Ford in 1987 moving to Toyota in 1998 for four years where he won two of his world titles in 1990 and 1992. After a year with Lancia Sainz joined the fledging Subaru team led by Dave Richards in 1994 where his dedication, experience and technical know how took them to a World Championship victory in 1995.
In the final event at the RAC rally he was neck and neck with his young teammate, Colin McRae, and under team instructions it was the Spaniard who had to forego the win in favour of the local boy. This event never spoiled their relationship over the years as Carlos is the consummate professional. However in the immediate aftermath it did for a while.
In 1996 Sainz rejoined the Ford team with the Ford Escort and could do no better than third place in the Championship behind Tommi Makkinen in a Mitsubishi with McRae in second place with Subaru. So He then rejoined Toyota who were attempting to re-establish themselves once again in the WRC and wanted to use the experience of Sainz and Frenchman Didier Auriol. However Sainz finished no better than fifth and when Ford re-launched their rally programme with the new FOCUS under Malcolm Wilson, Carols Sainz rejoined them to help develop the car.
Again he would be alongside team rival Colin McRae.
His success at Ford was mixed and inevitably the team marketing was all around the UK pairing of Colin McRae and his co drover Nicky Grist. Who went on to score three wins in their second season. But a bad crash in the Rally GB ended their ambitions in the season finale. The dominance of Peugeot that season and the next meant that the podium finishes were usually between Richard Burns and Marcus Gronholm.
Effectively given no future at Ford, the Spaniard moved to Citroën for the 2003 and 2004 seasons, where he was to score his final world rally victory at the 2004 Rally Argentina. Despite formally retiring at the end of the 2004 season, with a possible view to moving into the World Touring Car Championship, he was to actually find himself invited back to the WRC fold on the request of Citroën, to replace the faltering Belgian driver François Duval. Although Duval was soon to reclaim his seat,
After his retirement Carlos decided in 2006 to challenge for the Presidency of Real Madrid FC but failed to secure the votes at the time with the election to become a matter of controversy years later in relation to the eventual winner. Notwithstanding that defeat he is still a season ticket holder and remains the avid fan today regularly attending matches at the Santiago Bernabeu.
But it was the bug of the Dakar in Africa in 2007 that really took his interest and for the past four years he has worked physically hard to be ready for the challenges that the event throws up. His fourth decade in rally delivered the result he has worked so hard for since that first Dakar attempt four years ago.
Overall Carlos Sainz has won the World Rally Championship drivers' title with Toyota in 1990 and 1992, and finished runner-up four times. Constructors' world champions to win with Sainz are Subaru (1995), Toyota (1999) and Citroën (2003, 2004 and 2005). The Madrid man holds the WRC record for most career starts, podium finishes and points. He was also the first driver not from Scandinavia or Finland to win the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland.
Apart from the WRC successes, he has won the Race of Champions (1997) and the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (1990) and now the Dakar Rally at 48 years of age.
When you read his honours it is clear why is he known within rally world as “El Matador”
The FORE Ireland team have launched a new website whichhighlights the additional services the team will provide this year and the extended areas of activity.
