Draw made for the 46th Michael Doherty Spanish Golf Tour

The Draw for the 46th Michael Doherty Spanish Golf Tour took place on Saturday night at the City of Derry Golf Club. 
A total of 36 players, representing golf clubs from throughout the North-West and further afield, will contest the prestigious Travellers’ Trophy in Majorca starting on Monday 15th May.  
Being one of the longest-running amateur golf tours in Europe, the tour is again being organised by the City of Derry Golf Club Past Captain Andy Meenagh who took over running the tour in 2009. 
This remarkable tour continues to captivate golfers near and far. 

Players drawn from a wide area
Players this year are again drawn from a wide range of Clubs, most noticeably from City of Derry, North West and Greencastle.  
Other players are drawn from Cruit Island, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Portstewart, Ballynahinch and Portadown and two are travelling from the Joondalup Club in Perth, Australia.  
No less than 12 past winners of this coveted tournament trophy are travelling this year and since the first Spanish Tour to the Costa Del Sol in 1978. 
Last year’s winner, Ciaran O’Neill  from the Greencastle club who has now won the tournament three times since 2009, will be seeking to defend his title.  If he was to do so, he would become only the second traveller to win it four times after Maurice Brennan. 
The only player to have won the trophy five times is Liam McCaul from the City of Derry Club.  
The competition again this year will prove to be a hotly contested one.  
Most eyes will again probably focus on the low handicappers and the past winners who have had the experience of winning. 
Apart from Ciaran O’Neill being amongst the favourites to win, other players like Greencastle’s Maurice Brennan and Paul O’Doherty, City of Derry’s Mark O’Doherty and Tommy McBride, Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s Brian Long and Ballynahinch’s Brian McClure, will feel they will also be in the hunt. 
In the final analysis however, virtually every traveller has a chance to lift the coveted Travellers Trophy again at Santa Ponsa on Thursday week and this is why interest in the long-running tour has never waned. 

The Genius behind this tour
Started originally in 1976 with two Scottish Tours in 1976 and 1977, the first Spanish Tour took place in 1978 and were organised by the former City of Derry Professional, Michael Doherty who sadly passed away in late 2016 after a long illness. 
When he conceived the idea of a 72 holes tournament in 1976 on far off shores, he could never have imagined that 46 years later, it would still be a huge success. 
Apart from 2020 and 2021 when Covid prevented travel and play, this tournament has not missed a year.
Venues for the 2023 Tour
This 2023 Spanish Tour kicks off on the fabulous Santa Ponsa  course on Monday 15th May, followed by the beautifully upgraded T Golf Calvia course [which was formerly Poniente] on Tuesday. 
The final two rounds will be played at the Santa Ponsa course on the Wednesday and Thursday.  
Teams are selected for the 42nd Michael Doherty Travellers’ Trophy
The draw for the team event attracts a huge interest as every player on tour has a good chance of getting amongst the prizes. 
The very even spread of players will again make the team event a particularly close call and among the fancied team sides, those led by this year’s lowest handicapped player on tour Brian Long, as well as the teams captained by Mark O’Doherty and Ciaran O’Neill look good on paper. 
As has become practice on this tour, the nine teams selected will play together in their respective teams on the first day before breaking up into the open format of the tournament over the following three days. 
The draw for teams and the tee-off times for the first round [All are City of Derry Players unless otherwise indicated] are:

The 9 Teams and Draw for Day 1 - Monday 15th May 2023 – Santa Ponsa [City of Derry Players unless otherwise indicated]

11.28 [Team 1]: Mark O’Doherty [7.9], Gary Leckey [16.7], Phelim O’Neill Greencastle [18.5] and George Pearson [24.3]

11.36 [Team 2]: Ciaran O’Neill Greencastle [7.6], Stephen Wray Portadown [15.1], Brian Doherty Greencastle [18.7] and Danny McCloskey North West [23.0] 

11.44 [Team 3]: Michael McCullough [12.2], Leo Hickey Joondalup, Australia [13.8], Sean McKane North West [20.7] and Eugene Dunbar Portstewart [25.2]

11.52 [Team 4]: Brian McClure Ballynahinch [9.4], Brendan Coyle North West [14.9], David Jones [22.2] and Maurice Quigg [27.4]

12.00 [Team 5]: Brian Long Newcastle-upon-Tyne [4.9], Peter Villa [16.4], Karl Doherty [17.0] and John Hasson [23.8]

12.08[Team 6]: Maurice Brennan Greencastle [12.4], Eamon McCourt [15.9], Peter Lawrance Greencastle [18.9] and Andy Meenagh [22.9]

12.16 [Team 7]: Tommy McBride Greencastle [8.3], Colm McCarroll North West [14.4], Chris Quigley [18.1] and Peter McDaid Greencastle [22.5]

12.24 [Team 8]: Paul O’Doherty Greencastle [10.1], Kevin Barrett [14.3], Tommy O’Neill [22.1] and Ciaran Grant 22.9]

12.32 [Team 9]: Peter Doherty Joondalup, Australia [12.3], Joseph Doherty Critch Island [16.9], Tom McDermott [18.0] and John Bradley Greencastle [27.0].