The Road to Mallorca returns to Galgorm this week from July 25-28, for the Black Desert NI Open presented by Tom McKibbin. Here are three players to look out for…
Form horse – Frank Kennedy
A first professional victory at last week’s Euram Bank Open saw Frank Kennedy become the youngest winner on the Challenge Tour since 2018. The 18-year-old, who enjoyed a glittering amateur career, wasn’t to be denied at GC Adamstal and arrives in Northern Ireland having tasted success in the paid ranks.
The Englishman climbed to 21st in the season-long Road to Mallorca Rankings with that result, and speaking after his victory said, ‘it’ll be the same next week - I’ll go out on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and prep for that first tee shot on Thursday’. Best believe he’s not done yet.
Local boy - Dermot McElroy
Dermot McElroy will be hoping to kick-start his season when he tees it up on home soil this week. The Northern Irishman knows Galgorm better than most having grown up just a stone’s throw away from the parkland layout, in Ballymena. In 2022 that course knowledge helped him to a final round of 69 and a dominant seven stroke victory in this event when it was played on the Clutch Pro Tour, one of the feeder tours to the Challenge Tour.
The 31-year-old had his best season to date last year, finishing 61st in the Road to Mallorca Rankings, and a positive result this week would boost his chances of bettering that come the end of the season.
The outsider – Tomas Gouveia
Tomas Gouveia is trending in the right direction as the season reaches a crucial stage. The Portuguese has made each of the last four cuts to rise to 69th in the Rankings, having previously gone eight events without making it to the weekend.
An opening round of 61 in the Kaskáda Golf Challenge in June and an opening 64 at last week’s Euram Bank Open saw him hold a first-round lead in each event, with rounds of 68-66-68-67 at the Blot Open de Bretagne four weeks ago seeing him finish tied fifth, his best result of the year to date.
