The Celts took the honours when the 2017 Titleist Order of Merit grand finals, powered by HowDidiDo, were played at the four-time Open Championship venue, Trump Turnberry, marking the most successful year in the tournament’s decade-long history.
Both the men’s and team title headed across the Irish Sea, while the ladies’ prize stayed north of the border in Scotland.
Almost 16,000 golfers, from more than 1,600 HowDidiDo registered clubs, participated in the 2017 Titleist Order of Merit, powered by HowDidiDo, with the handicaps ranging from +4 to 54. Running from April to September, the Order of Merit saw a staggering 16,350 competitions with more than 272,000 eligible competition rounds.
County Armagh GC’s John Maguire, who plays off four, took the honour in the men’s competition, while 20-handicapper Helen Hunter (Carrickvale GC) won the ladies’ title. Maguire was joined by Eileen Powell, a 13-handicapper, and Yvonne Traynor (19), both from Naas GC, and Donabate GC’s John Ryan, who plays off 17, as Ireland danced off with the team prize.
Maguire said: “I’m tired, but it’s been really good. I registered for the HowDidiDo event at the start of the year and kind of forgot about it – I didn’t have a great start to the year. And then, near the end, it completely ‘snuck’ up on me, so it’s brilliant. Where else would you get the chance to do this?”
Entry to the Titleist Order of Merit was free and HowDidiDo monitored each competitor’s medal rounds, selecting the five best from each player, in each handicap division, throughout the qualifying period. In total, 16 finalists travelled to Trump Turnberry.
The top prize was a Titleist Tour bag and a custom fitting for a set of irons and hybrids, while the winning team members each received a new stand bag and a year’s supply of ProV1 golf balls.
Titleist golf club marketing manager Chris Beaumont added: “It is true golfers taking part and competing against everybody from across the country. It’s a great experience and a great Order of Merit. It allows us to get in contact with the dedicated golfer and find out what they’re interested in.”
HowDidiDo is Europe’s largest golfing community, holding data from in excess of 53 million rounds of golf along with the handicaps, results and scores of more than 1,300,000 UK golf club members.
More than 1,800 golf clubs currently use the HowDidiDo system, allowing members to analyse their game and compare performance with other players – at their own club or across the entire HowDidiDo network. It is also used for official CONGU handicapping and competition results and continues to bring golfers together both online and offline from around the UK with thriving events like the Titleist Order of Merit.
HowDidiDo www.howdidido.com