Irish pros line up fourball success

Eddie Tracy (left) and Shaun Donnelly (right) will be in action at St Mellion at Getty Images…/

Four Irish duos will be in the running for glory in the prestigious Golfbreaks.com PGA Fourball Championship final.

The contingent will include regional qualifying victors Shaun Donnelly and Eddie Tracey, who will be returning to the BMW-supported championship for the first time in five years.

Yet they can expect tough competition from within the region if they are to mark their visit to the Jack Nicklaus-designed St Mellion course by claiming the crown.

Ryan Madigan and Leo Hynes in particular pushed the duo close during a competitive qualifying round. The Killiney duo finished just one shot off the pace.

The event, a £33,250 betterball tournament, takes place on August 20-22 and is one of the highlights of The PGA’s national tournament schedule.

This year the championship will visit Cornwall venue St Mellion for the first time, after a five year spell at Lincolnshire course Forest Pines. 

St Mellion has a rich history of hosting prestige tournaments - Bernhard Langer, Jose Maria Olazabal and Paul Casey have all won tournaments there, as did the late Seve Ballesteros in 1994 when he was triumphant in the Benson and Hedges International.

More recently, the English Seniors Open was contested at the venue in 2006 and 2007.

The other pairings from Ireland competing in the event are Emmet Staunton (Castleknock) and Mark O’Mahoney (Titleist National Fitting Centre), and Mark Gallacher and Scott Kirkpatrick (Ardee).

View the full list of entries and event information for the Championship at St Mellion.