Mullarney and O'Keeffe set for Chile trip in January

Ronan Mullarney in action at the 2018 Men's Home Internationals at Conwy Golf Club, Conwy, Wales on Thursday 13th September 2018. Picture: Thos Caffrey / Golffile

Galway’s Ronan Mullarney and Douglas’ Peter O'Keeffe have been selected by the GUI to compete at the South American Amateur Championship in Santiago, Chile from January 10-13.

Mullarney and O'Keeffe will travel to Club de Golf Los Leones in the Chilean capital of Santiago for this WAGR-ranked event, which is part-funded by The R&A. The course previously hosted the World Amateur Team Championship in 1998.

The reigning Irish Student champion, 23-year-old Mullarney enjoyed a prolific year at home and abroad, winning his Irish Students title at Tralee in addition to the R&A Foundation Scholars Tournament at St Andrews.

Making his Ireland debut at this year's Home Internationals, Mullarney won five out of six points. The Galway talent is currently studying for an MSc in Strategy and Innovation at Maynooth University.

Peter O'Keeffe drives from the fifth at the 2018 Men's Home Internationals at Conwy Golf Club, Conwy, Wales on Friday 14th September 2018. Picture: Thos Caffrey / Golffile

He’s set to travel to the US with fellow Maynooth scholarship student Caolan Rafferty to compete in the Patriot All America Invitational at The Wigwam Golf Club in Litchfield Park, Arizona from December 29-31.

Corkman Peter O'Keeffe (37) continued his ascent through the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) in 2018, climbing inside the world's top 50, and the 2017 Flogas Irish Amateur Open champion is currently the second highest ranked Irish player on WAGR.

The South American Amateur (Campeonato Sudamericano Amateur) is a 72-hole stroke play event that attracts a strong international field with players travelling from Europe, Australia and North America.

Mullarney and O'Keeffe are members of the GUI National Panel, which is supported by both Sport Ireland and Sport Northern Ireland.

GUI Selections: South American Amateur Championship, Club de Golf Los Leones, Santiago, Chile (10-13 January 2019): Ronan Mullarney (Galway), Peter O'Keeffe (Douglas).

from News - Irish Golf Desk http://bit.ly/2A95HEG