GUI agm: This year's Walker Cup match at Royal County Down, on September 8th and 9th, will have a restricted daily attendance of 7,000, and the vast majority of tickets will be made available to the golfing public through their clubs.
Yesterday's Golfing Union of Ireland agm at Carton House, near Maynooth in Co Kildare, saw Tommy Basquille, a 59-year-old official with the HSE, installed as the union's 59th president. The highpoint of his year in office is likely to come at RCD when Ireland play hosts to the Walker Cup for only the second time. It was first held in this country at Portmarnock in 1991.
Four Irish golfers - Rory McIlroy, Gareth Shaw, Simon Ward and Johnny Caldwell - are on the Britain and Ireland squad for the match, although the team seeking to regain the trophy from the US won't be selected until mid-August.
With attendances restricted on health and safety grounds, those seeking tickets will be given the opportunity to do so through their clubs with 5,000 of them to be made available to members of clubs affiliated to the GUI.
Basquille succeeded Bernie Hynes as president of the GUI at yesterday's agm, which passed a motion from the Leinster Branch that "the GUI will not give approval to any competition in which prizes are, or appear to be, in breach of amateur status".
Royal Portrush's John Moss, captain of the Ulster team for the past few years, was voted in as selector for the Ireland team to replace his clubmate, David Young. Michael Burns, of Tramore, remains team captain.
