Paul Rohdich takes his defending champions, Royal Portush, to Warrenpoint tomorrow morning with the talented squad hoping to take the Fred Daly trophy back to its namesakes home course once more.
The Royal Portrush team boasts a wealth of underage talent with Luca Rogers, Jensen Boyce, Samuel Lee-McNamara, Patrick Morris, Ben Todd and Noah Beggs teeing up alongside Irish and Ulster U-14 boys’ champion Ollie McEvoy.
Five of the team are set to continue their golfing futures abroad in the coming years and Rohdich is full of praise for what this competition means for the players and for the work put in by not only each individual but by the coaches who have mentored them on their journey.
“Of the team the standard is that high that overall, we will have five going to college in America between now and the next three years. It’s been a great breeding ground for future champions as obviously a lot of players have turned out to be Major winners, especially the likes of Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke” said Rohdich.
“We actually know that the standard is so high in the All-Ireland that our guys have been practicing hard since last September, every fortnight at the club and also getting tuition from our top pro who is an ex-Irish Champion, Gary McNeill and also coaching from our Walker Cup player, Alan Dunbar.”
Rohdich has been at the helm of the Ulster North winning side for seven years, making history when leading the team to a first ever All-Ireland title in 2023, defeating Greystones 3&2 in the final, a proud moment for all involved.
“The first Irish man ever to win a British Open was born and bred in Portrush and played in Portrush and to have the All-Ireland trophy back, we have a special cabinet dedicated to the first Open winner in 1947, so it has pride of place in the cabinet and unfortunately now the case is empty today as I am bringing the trophy back down to Warrenpoint,” said Rohdich.
The goal for Rohdich and his side is for that trophy cabinet to not remain empty for long but with some of the best junior golfers the country has to offer making their way to Warrenpoint he understands that retention will be no easy task.
“We obviously are going to be trying hard, we know the competition is very difficult and the standard is very high so anybody can win it, but we certainly will be trying really hard.
“We will give the other teams a lot of respect, it’s not going to be easy”
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