Isle of Man Golf’s 72-hole Strokeplay Championships for men and women is scheduled to tee off at Ramsey Golf Club this weekend.

Sponsored by local property construction company Haven Homes, the first 36 holes of the event will be played in a single day at Ramsey before competitors venture south to Rowany the following Sunday, May 16 for the concluding 36 holes.

The first Isle of Man Golf competition of the 2021 season for gross and nett prizes sees some very good entries for this order of merit counting event, although a few notable absentees may not be fully out of hibernation yet. Hopefully we will see them back to full health and in the swing of things for the next event.

Special thanks go to Billy Newton, a very keen golfer himself and past-captain of Rowany, and Dave Lewis of Haven Homes for agreeing to sponsor this event for the next three years. This is greatly appreciated by all concerned.

Both Ramsey and Rowany greenkeeping teams have been extremely hard at work during their winter programme, so there shouldn’t be any complaints from competitors on two of the best maintained courses in the island.

Isle of Man Golf would like to thank both clubs for agreeing to host the events, of which a reciprocal greenage agreement has been met to benefit those club members not taking part in the 72-hole event - this reflects the true spirit of golf so well done Rowany and Ramsey.

All the very best to all competitors - results in next week’s Manx Independent.DONALD BEGGS