It's all about Trust for soon-to-be-married golfers
Wednesday November 26th 2003


Peter Lawrie, Gary Murphy and Damien McGrane at a reception in the
Shelbourne Hotel by the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John
O'Donoghue TD, to acknowledge the performance of the Team Ireland Golf
Trust.



IRELAND'S new golfing stars - Peter Lawrie, Gary Murphy and Damien
McGrane - are looking forward to 2004 brimful of confidence after a
successful 2003 season.

But first on the agenda for Lawrie and Murphy are wedding bells, while
familyman McGrane can look forward to a quiet few weeks before returning
to action in January.

Lawrie gets married on December 6 and will honeymoon in New York and
Antigua before returning to Dublin for Christmas. He will start the '04
campaign in South Africa in January, as will McGrane.

Murphy ties the knot on December 30 and will head for Mauritius. After
the honeymoon he will start the new golfing season in February in
Thailand.

Speaking at a reception in Dublin last night, each of the golfers
reflected on lessons learned from this year and on renewed ambitions for
the coming 12 months.

Organised by the Team Ireland Golf Trust, which backed all three when
they were struggling to establish themselves, the event was highlighted
by a presentation to the Peter Lawrie by Sports and Tourism Minister
John O'Donoghue.

The silver salver given to Lawrie by the Trust was in honour of his
winning the European Tour "Rookie of the Year" award, and also
highlighted the major contribution made by this scheme which is operated
under the auspices of the Irish Sports Council.

Lawrie, Murphy and McGrane all received EUR25,000 from the Trust this
year, but had also benefited in previous years when they were not as
successful as in '03.

Indeed, Murphy remembered how grateful he was when he received a
EUR15,000 grant at the start of January 2002.

Combined with borrowing from other sources, it helped keep him in the
game. The grants were badly needed back then, as they were this year as
the trio battled to establish themselves on the circuit.

As events transpired, Lawrie came 56th on the Volvo Order of Merit,
Murphy 59th, and McGrane qualified for '04 when he produced a superb
performance to finish third in the Qualifying School after ending up
140th on Tour.

Said Lawrie: "The Team Ireland Golf Trust has been superb for me and I
couldn't be in the position I am without their help."

Murphy and McGrane echoed those sentiments, and in turn, Trust officials
feel that these golfers can inspire others to achieve the same heights.
Still, it's now about looking ahead. Each player has his different way
of planning for improvement.

For Lawrie, his goal is to improve his stroke average from 71.88 to
70.0. Small it may seem, but every stroke dropped off the average means
big money in the bank. "If the stroke average is lower, everything else
takes care of itself," he said.

Gary Murphy is looking to focus on courses which suit his game. "I'll
play the longer courses, such as The K Club, Loch Lomond, and Cologne.
This was a solid year and I made 21 cuts out of 25, including the Irish
Championship, so I hope to build on that," he said.

McGrane still considers himself first and foremost a club professional
with Wexford, and takes a pragmatic view. "This year my card gave me 17
of the weaker starts on the Tour.

"Now I will be playing in bigger tournaments for a lot more money. You
have to compare like with like, and if I play the same golf in bigger
events, I should do well," he said.

"The main thing I learned is you have to play your own game and not
worry about what anyone else is doing.

"You're out there on the practice ground with some of the best players
in the world, but if you don't take care of your own business, you'll
starve," he said.

The Golf Trust allocated EUR260,000 to golfers on the main tours and
young players starting out this year.

It is a partnership between statutory agencies and private corporations.
Ryanair, O'Callaghan Hotels, and clients of Bryan Phelan all contribute
as well as the Sports Council, Bord Fáilte and PGA European Tour.