LETTERKENNY Golf Club member Breege McDonagh recently spent a day with leading professional golfer Shane Lowry.
A retired nurse in Letterkenny University Hospital, Breege was one of 21 golfers nationwide who were selected to play a round with Lowry at St Margaret’s Golf and Country Club earlier this month.
To round off a wonderful day, Breege was awarded the shot of the day – a drive on the par four sixth hole – and was presented with her award by Shane at a presentation dinner at the Swords venue later that night.
“It was better than getting a hole in one. He’s my favourite golfer. I hope to get to watch him next year when the Irish Open comes to Ballyliffin. I’ve already got my ticket for the final day,” she said.
Breege’s name was randomly drawn out of a hat in the Clanree Hotel at the end of August. She takes up the story.
“I was out for a bite to eat in the hotel when one of the staff asked me did I play golf. I was then asked to sign my name on a card which was entered into a draw to play a round of golf with Shane Lowry.
“Imagine my surprise when I got a call a few weeks later to say that I had won and was on my way to St Margaret’s as well as an overnight stay at the Regency Hotel in Dublin,” she said.
Lowry is a global brand ambassador for McGettigan Hospitality, which currently includes 14 bars worldwide – with venues all across the UK & Ireland, Singapore, New York and the Middle East– along with a number hotels in Ireland (including the Clanree and McGettigan’s in Letterkenny) as well as the Bonnington Hotel in Dubai.
“I took my friend Margaret Harvey with me and together with a girl who works in the Regency Hotel we played our own 3-ball for sixteen holes with Shane joining us for two holes. We were fourth group out and he joined us on the sixth. He drove his out of bounds while mine went down the fairway. He then chose to hit my ball onto the green and we got a birdie.
“Later that night we all went for a meal in the Regency. There were only four females out of the 21 golfers that day and I got the surprise of my life when it was announced that I had hit the best drive and he presented me with my prize. It capped off what was the best day of my life. He joined us for dinner afterwards and was great company. It was a perfect end to what really was a perfect day,” she said.
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