Irish trio receive grants from Trust

Challenge Tour Members Jonathan Caldwell, Niall Kearney and Simon Thornton have been awarded a combined €40,000 by the Team Ireland Golf Trust.

This year the Trust, which has provided €2.75million since its inception 12 years ago, awarded a total of €157,000 in grants to 15 Irish professionals in an effort to ease the financial burden of competing on various Tours across the world.

Caldwell and Kearney received the top award of €15,000 each, whilst Thornton, who is returning to Challenge Tour duty after losing his playing privileges on The European Tour last year, was awarded a €10,000 grant.

“My plan is to secure a European Tour card,” said Kearney, who is competing at this week’s Barclays Kenya Open.

“I will concentrate mainly on the Challenge Tour and play up to 23 events. The financial support I receive from the Trust will go a long way towards covering my expenses for the season, so it’s a big weight off my mind because it means I can just concentrate on playing golf.”