In what is a Walker Cup and European Team Championship year, David Jones may yet have sterner assignments ahead than the Youths Interprovincial Championship. But the event, which starts at Waterford Golf Club tomorrow, invariably provides golf of an exceptionally high quality and the presence of Jones in Ulster's team is an indication of their determination to retain the title.
Indeed, as if to confirm the calibre of the competition, all four provinces include at least one member of the Irish team that created history in winning the European Boys championship last season. And although Jones is the only one who has managed to win a full international cap, a number of other players appear ready to make that transition sooner rather than later.
Ulster, though, look to have the edge on their opponents - even if Leinster have the advantage of including two home club players, Lee Dalton and Gavin McNeill, in their seven-man team. Last week, Jones's City of Derry clubmate Michael McGeady won the Connacht Youths Open (effectively the event that now kick-starts the season with the West of Ireland's rescheduling to a May date) and, for good measure, Robin Symes and Gareth Maybin also secured places in the top-six.
Jones has only recently returned from the National Squad training in Portugal and the GUI's intent to expose him to top international competition this season has come in his selection on the official travelling party for the prestige St Anrdews Links Trophy next month when he will be joined by Paddy Gribben, the European amateur champion and a member of the British and Irish Eisenhower Trophy winning team, Gary Cullen, Johnny Foster, Noel Fox, Garth McGimpsey and Andrew McCormick.
Ulster face a fierce battle to keep their hands on the title and, indeed, extend their winning sequence to a fourth year. Leinster include two players who are on golfing scholarships to UCD, Mark Campbell and Justin Kehoe, and the team seems to have tremendous strength-in-depth, while Connacht's quest to take the title for the first time is boosted by the inclusion of the highly-rated McTernan brothers, Sean and Martin, and boys international Mark O'Sullivan. Connacht's youngster also have the advantage of former Irish Close champion and international Ken Kearney as their non-playing captain and, in fact, Kearney guided most of these same players through boys interprovincial campaigns in recent years. Munster, who haven't won the title since 1984, also have a strong side that includes Mervyn but Ulster look to have that winning look about them.
The Smurfit Girls Interprovincial championships commence at Little Island tomorrow. Although Ulster have dominated this particular event down the years (with 13 wins to Leinster's five and Munster's three since its inception in 1978), Leinster are the defending champions and appear to have sufficient quality to make a strong defence of that crown. Indeed, the Leinster side has a smattering of players with junior international experience - Pamela Murphy, Martina Gillen and Una Marsden - and open the defence of their title by taking on Munster tomorrow, a match which will provide a significant pointer to the likely champions.
