Putt Your Money Where Your Mouth is

What with all the football happening, don't forget about this famous sporting event that takes place every five years - the JP McManus Invitational Pro-Am golf tournament. It raises millions for charity and entices the likes of Tiger Woods to play. PHOTOS © REX FEATURES

It was back in 1990 that County Limerick native JP McManus – a renowned figure in National Hunt racing and the world’s financial circles – had the idea of running a Pro-Am golf event to raise as much money as possible for good causes in the Irish mid-west.

Twenty years on, and excitement is building in anticipation for this summer’s tournament on 5–6 July. If ever there was an excuse for golf fans and the uninitiated alike to visit Limerick, this is it.

The Irish mid-west is one of the most beautiful areas of the Emerald Isle, famed for its landscape and history. And Adare, where the event is being held, was once voted Ireland’s most beautiful and tidiest village. Limerick city, just 20km from Adare, is redolent with history. Some know it as “The City of the Violated Treaty”, dating back to 1691, when the Irish Jacobite forces led by Patrick Sarsfield negotiated a treaty with the Williamite General Ginkel that was subsequently rejected in the Irish Parliament.

But most know it today as “The Riverside City”, with many of its most spectacular buildings overlooking the lordly River Shannon. Filled with atmospheric bars, hotels and restaurants, this is a town all about the craic. The arts are well catered for, with the ultra-modern University Concert Hall Limerick just outside the city. And, appropriately, Limerick is a proud sporting city, boasting the newly modernised Thomond Park – the home of Munster Rugby.

The region’s biggest benefactor over the years has been JP McManus himself. The owner of this year’s Grand National winner Don’t Push It is so fondly looked upon in these parts that he was recently given the keys to the city of Limerick. To date, the Pro-Am has raised more than €55 million – all going towards supporting charities and groups in their work with the underprivileged and disadvantaged in the region. To play their part, the charities and other groups organise pre-qualifying tournaments across Ireland in an effort to enter teams into the Pro-Am, and of course to raise money for good causes.

Business associates and friends of the McManus family also pay to enter teams, the proceeds of which go directly towards the charity fund. It’s a massive amount of money by any standard.

The tournament itself – which has a prize fund of €1 million for the professionals, of which up to €300,000 could go to the overall winner – is comprised of 54 teams of four players. Each team has one professional and three amateurs. Professional golfers involved this year include two-time major winner, Angel Cabrera of Argentina, rising US star Nick Watney, 2005 Pro-Am winner Padraig Harrington, and the likes of Jim Furyk, Ernie Els, Lee Westwood, Anthony Kim, Paul Casey, Ian Poulter, Luke Donald, Robert Allenby, Camilo Villegas, Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, and – McManus promises – Tiger Woods. Celebrities playing include: Michael Flatley, Martin O’Neill, Niall Quinn, Aidan Quinn, Hugh Grant, AP McCoy, Kyle MacLachlan and Samuel L Jackson.

But why is it so special that 53,000 people attended over the two days of the 2005 event? For me, it’s quite simply all about the memories and the great spirit in which the game is played. Take this delightful cameo at the 2005 Pro-Am involving Tiger Woods, his caddie Steve Williams and a special needs spectator, Peter Cosgrave. A relaxed Woods was strolling the fairways with his amateur partners when Williams pointed out a face in the crowd. Without hesitation, Tiger made his way into the gallery and called on Peter to come and have their photograph taken together. It was a poignant and touching moment and, as Peter’s dad Michael John said: “This was the proudest day of his life. He’s so thrilled. It’s all he ever wanted.”

A major feature ensuring the success of the Pro-Am is that the stars clearly come because they want to. As Tiger put it in 2005: “When JP asks you to do something, you can’t wait to do it. Look at the field that he has assembled out there this week. We’re all here for him and it’s a very special week for all of us – to come here and support a good friend.”

And yet the bewilderment continues: just how does JP do it? How can anyone put together a field that would grace any event on the US PGA or European tours? His great friend and three-time major champion Padraig Harrington has no doubt.

“It’s all down to the man himself,” he says. “There is a personal relationship JP has built up over the years with a huge number of players. They are very comfortable in his company. As players, we do very well financially ourselves. So it’s nice from a social reason to be involved in a charity that raises such a massive amount of money. You feel good about it and players are happy to be associated with that.”

Harrington himself epitomises the spirit of the tournament. He signed so many autographs on the first day in 2005 that a brand new Sharpie ran out of ink before he had completed nine holes.

“That was a record,” he quipped, before adding: “I played with Tony McCoy and Mick Fitzgerald, two famous National Hunt riders, and the great Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester United footballer Michael Owen. Of the three, Michael was the one who looked most like a jockey!”

The funds were so precisely administered that the exact figure of €31,549,431.59 was raised. It is little wonder that JP is the toast of Limerick, or that Harrington should muse: “Quite simply, there is nothing like this anywhere in the world. They are trying to raise $10 million in a day from a similar event in the States – the biggest of its kind over there. I was thinking: ‘Hey, JP could raise €31 million in two days’.”

Only time will tell whether it can be done in these more straitened times this year. Being the realist that he is, JP simply says: “It would be foolhardy of me to talk like that. We have to accept that we’re in difficult times today, but it’s a challenge and maybe that makes it more interesting. We’ll try, and if we do, we do, and if we don’t, we will make do with whatever we get.”

JP MCMANUS INVITATIONAL PRO-AM TAKES PLACE 5–6 JULY AT THE ADARE GOLF CLUB.

FOR MORE DETAILS, VISIT WWW.JPMCMANUSPROAM.COM AND WWW.ADAREGOLFCLUB.COM

NEED TO KNOW

WHAT IS IT?
JP McManus Invitational Pro-Am

WHEN?
5–6 July, 2010

WHERE?
Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort, Adare, County Limerick. The course was designed by the legendary American architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. It staged the Irish Open in 2007 and 2008 when the winners were Ireland’s Padraig Harrington and England’s Richard Finch. A parkland layout on the banks of the trout-rich River Maigue, it is one of the best and most challenging courses in Ireland, and also one of the most picturesque.

WHAT IS THE TOURNAMENT FORMAT?
Decided over 36 holes, 18 each day, with €1 million on offer for the professionals, with up to €300,000 to the winner. There are six team prizes of highly attractive Tipperary crystal.

WHAT IS THE COST OF ADMISSION?
Your cap is your ticket! Choose from eight distinctive two-day entrance caps: those representing the six counties of Munster, the Ireland cap and the Munster cap. They cost €50 each, and under-16s get in for free.

FOR MORE DETAILS AND TO PURCHASE ONLINE, VISIT WWW.JPMCMANUSPROAM.COM

THREE MORE UNMISSABLE IRISH CLUBS

THE K CLUB: The venue for the 2006 Ryder Cup, this impressive course at Straffan, County Kildare, was designed by Arnold Palmer. What’s more, it now has another 18-hole neighbour also designed by the former US and British Open and Masters champion. WWW.KCLUB.COM

OLD HEAD: Arguably the most stunningly beautiful of any golf course on the planet, the Old Head is located about five miles from the lovely seaside town of Kinsale, County Cork. The clifftop golf course was created on 73ha of an 89ha site. It sits on a promontory that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean for more than 3km, and off the back tees stretches to more than 7,200 yards, with a par of 72. WWW.OLDHEAD.COM

LOUGH ERNE: There are few more enchanting spots on the Emerald Isle than Lough Erne Resort near Enniskillen in the county of Fermanagh. The recently opened five-star luxury hotel and spa boasts two outstanding courses, including the first Nick Faldo design in Ireland. The Thai spa offers a range of expert treatments. WWW.LOUGHERNEGOLFRESORT.COM