Big challenge for Headfort golfers

A trip to Europe"s hottest golf destination awaits Headfort"s Peter Conlon and club professional Brendan McGovern if they can come through the regional final of Europe"s biggest pro-am competition, the Virgin Atlantic PGA National Pro-Am Championship. The tournament, which draws in more than 100,000 competitors from across Great Britain and Ireland, has reached a notable milestone as it is celebrating its 25th competitive year. In addition, the tournament has secured sponsorship from the UK"s award-winning long haul airline, which is also celebrating its 25th year. Navan man Conlon, who plays off 15, took his first big step towards a luxury five-day trip to Turkey, when he won the club qualifying competition with a score of 43 points. The 22-year-old and McGovern now advance to Laytown & Bettystown Golf Club on Tuesday, 25 August, for one of 16 regional finals, where they will play one round of betterball medal play. The winning professional in the regional final receives £500, and there are valuable prizes for the top amateurs. The winners of all the regional finals throughout Great Britain and Ireland will enjoy an all-expenses-paid luxury trip to compete in the Grand Final on 6th December at the PGA Sultan course at Antalya Golf Club where they will stay at the five-star Sirene Hotel and Beach Resort. The PGA National Pro-Am has an overall prize fund of £30,000, with the winning professional at the Grand Final taking home a cheque for £5,000. This Thursday, 28th May, Hollywood Lakes Golf Club will host Ireland"s first 'Gastronomique" golf event , a fourball scramble, as a fundraiser in aid of Biobank Ireland, the Breast and Colon Cancer Research Charity. Le Gastronomique offers a mixture of great golf, great food and great wine, all on the course! A different chef is waiting to serve teams with delicious cuisine and a glass of wine at various teeboxes throughout the course. This is the first time such an event has been held in Ireland and promises to be a great occasion. Biobank Ireland was founded to promote the development of a network of biobanks throughout the island of Ireland as a bridge between cancer research and care. This infrastructure of biobanks located at Ireland"s hospitals is being developed to facilitate large national and international cancer research projects, advancing the research process and will ultimately benefit those with cancer. The cost is €580 for a team of four, contact Ciarán at (01) 2500050 or (087) 2456321, for further information on Biobank Ireland, visit www.biobankireland.ie Hollywood Lakes is a par 72 at Ballyboughal, Dublin