Please note that the Terms of Competition below must be read in conjunction with the General Regulations for Golf Ireland Competitions available online and in print in the GOLF IRELAND HANDBOOK.
West of Ireland Amateur Open Championship
a) Age Group: General
b) Gender: Male
c) Handicap: Entrants must have a Handicap Index of 2.0 or lower at the close of entries to be eligible to enter.
d) Eligibility: See Section A of the General Regulations.
e) Size of Field: The field size for both the Championship and the Qualifier will be fixed on an annual basis by the Championship Committee.
f) Ballot:
Championship: The following automatically qualify:
• Entrants meeting the standardised balloting criteria prescribed for Bridgestone Tour events (Appendix 1)
• In addition, the following provisos apply to those who have entered:
• Any players who gain a place in the Championship at the close of entries and withdraw before the start of the qualifier will have their place added to the number available from the Qualifier.
• Withdrawals from the Championship after the commencement of the qualifier will be filled by the leading players in the Qualifier who do not initially gain a place in the Championship (ties broken in accordance with Section A, Regulation 10 of the General Regulations).
• Subject to withdrawals from the Championship Field prior to the commencement of the West of Ireland Amateur Open Qualifier in the year of the Championship, such vacancies shall be filled from those next in line according to the Qualifier Results.
Qualifier: The top-90 players who do not qualify for the Championship at the close of entries will be allocated a place in the qualifier in order of lowest Handicap Index at the time of entries. If necessary, a waiting list for the Qualifier will be created in order of lowest Handicap Index at the close of entries, subject to the following:
• Three Connacht (Home Club) entrants nominated by the Regional Boys’ U18 Selection Committee who are under-18 on 1st January in the year of the Championship, eligible in accordance with Section A of the General Regulations, and within 1.0 of the qualifying Handicap Index for the Qualifier field, are exempt.
• The Committee reserves the right to include further exemptions which it deems in the best interest of the Championship.
• In the event of entrants on the same exact Handicap Index tying for the final places in the Qualifier field, then all such entrants shall be allocated a place in the Qualifier field.
Cancellation or Abandonment of Qualifier:
(a) In the event weather conditions or any other factors beyond its control rendering it impossible to commence or complete play on the designated day of the “Qualifier” the Qualifier for that year shall not take place.
(b) Regarding those places set aside for the Qualifiers in the main Championship field, they shall then be filled in handicap index order. In the event of there being players tied in handicap index for those final places, the championship committee shall conduct a ballot to determine those be allotted a place in the Championship. The handicap index used to determine the allocations shall be handicap index at close of entry.
(c) All remaining players not getting into the championship due to abandonment or cancellation shall receive a refund of entry fee.
g) Form of Play: Stroke Play & Match Play
h) No. of Rounds:
Qualifier: one Stroke Play round
Championship: 36 holes of stroke play and six rounds of match play
i) Cut: In the Championship, there will be a cut after 36 holes with the top-64 players advancing to the Matchplay. Ties for 64th place will be broken in accordance with the countback tie breaking method prescribed in the regulations.
j) Ties :
Qualifier: The players tied for final qualifying positions will play sudden death over Holes 1, 2, 3, 4 & 18 in accordance with Section A, Regulation 10 of the General Regulations.
Matchplay: Matches finishing All-Square after 18 holes shall immediately play sudden death over Holes 1, 2, 3, 4 & 18 in accordance with Section A, Regulation 10 of the General Regulations.