This weekend’s Irish Masters Open sees 136 players descend on Dublin including several medallists from the summer’s European Masters Individual Championships in Poland.
Forty-seven players from overseas – including a 19-strong Spanish contingent – begin their campaigns on Friday (17 October) at the Fitzwilliam Club, with 13 draws (nine men’s and four women’s).
The men’s 50+ has the biggest draw and topping the seedings is France’s Matthieu Benoit who was brilliant in his four-game defeat against the legendary Christian Drakenberg in the European Masters final in Wroclaw in August.
Austria’s Jonathan Gallacher is 50+ second seed and Rob Staunton and David Ayerst are expected to be Ireland’s biggest title threats.
Ireland’s own Michael Conlon was also a European Masters silver medallist and he starts as favourite for the 70+ title in Dublin this weekend, with no.2 seed Peter Stephens as his main challenger.
Maureen Duke, the recent European bronze medallist in Wroclaw (pictured above right), is no.1 seed in the women’s 60/65/70+ category. The other women’s no.1 seeds are Ireland’s Josephine Grogan (WO55), France’s Maud Bailly (WO45/50) and homegrown Aoileann Ni Chomhrai (WO35/40), who finished second in the recent Belgian Masters.
Austria’s David Grabenweger is the top-ranked MO35 player, and Ireland junior performance coach David Noone is seeded No.1 in the MO40.
Neil Macarron, the 2023 European champion in Hamburg, is No.1 in the MO45, Spain’s Ignacio Rodrigues the MO55 No.1, Ireland’s Willie Hosey the MO60 No.1, France’s Alain Gardette the MO65 No.1 and Ireland’s Michael McGrath the MO75 top seed.
Check the draws and scores from the 2025 Irish Masters Open here
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