
James Sugrue who should be eligible for Golf Ireland Professional funding in 2026.
Picture: Niall O’Shea
Applications are now being accepted for the 2026 Golf Ireland Professional Scheme, a grant scheme to support Irish professional golfers in the early stages of their careers, and it’s possible that a few Cork golfers will be involved in the programme next year.
The scheme was established in 1999, and has been an invaluable source of funding for early stage professionals for 25 years. A number of Cork golfers have benefitted from the scheme in the early years. Mervyn Owens and Padraig Dooley were recipients when they were on the Europro Tour, Claire Coughlan for the Ladies European Tour, and Niall Turner was funded for two years when he was on the Challenge Tour and the Asian Tour. The funding was previously called the Team Ireland Golf Trust, and was renamed as the Golf Ireland Professional Scheme a few yeas ago.
Sara Byrne and James Sugrue have both confirmed their tour status for 2026 and it’s likely that both will feature on the scheme. 2025 Golf Ireland professional Sara Byrne has enjoyed Continue reading →