After their brilliant success last month in the European Amateur Men’s Team Championship in Estonia, Ireland’s leading amateurs will again go hunting more silverware. This time it will be on home terrain, when the R&A Home Internationals take place at Woodbrook Golf Club, forming part of the Co Wicklow club’s centenary celebrations.A number of trophies will be up for grabs. The R&A Trophy will be awarded to the winner of the combined men’s and women’s championship, while the historical silverware – the Raymond Trophy for the men’s and the Hugh C Kelly Trophy for the women’s – will also be presented.The Irish teams’ selections reflect rewards for current-season form. Thomas Higgins (Roscommon) made the winning putt in Estonia and Fota Island’s John Doyle is another member of that winning side. They have been named alongside David Howard, also Fota Island, who made such an impression in qualifying for The Open at Royal Birkdale.Gerard Dunne (Co Louth), the Bridgestone Order of Merit leader, North of Ireland champion Dylan Keating (Seapoint), David Kitt (Athenry), Fionn Dobbin (Malone), Keith Egan (Carton House) and recently-crowned Dutch Junior Open champion Gavin O’Neill (Malahide) complete the men’s team.Irish Close champion Katie Poots (Knock), Olivia Costello (Roscommon), Anna Abom (Edmondstown), Elm Park’s Emma Fleming, Rebekah Gardner and Jessica Ross (Clandeboye), and Kate Dillon (Oughterard) form the women’s team seeking to defend their title.Coulter targets full Tour cardA world of possibilities has suddenly opened up for Beth Coulter after her victory on her professional debut in the Irish Women’s Challenge at Malahide Golf Club. That triumph propelled her to 14th on the Ladies European Tour (LET) Access Tour order of merit.The 22-year-old Co Down player – who was a standout college player with Arizona State and a two-time Curtis Cup player – beat South Korea’s Ayeon Yang in a playoff on her first pro start and will aim to take that momentum onwards to this week’s Access Tour stop in Denmark.Coulter’s dramatic impact has enabled her to target a top-seven finish on the order of merit, which would earn her a full LET Tour card for next season.Meanwhile, there will be three Irish players – Sara Byrne, Áine Donegan and Anna Foster – in the field for this week’s LET stop, the PIF London at the Centurion Club, where there is a purse of $2 million (€1.73 million) on offer. By the Numbers: 110Séamus Power is playing in the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, in the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season. Power is currently 110th in the FedEx Cup standings and needs to break into the top-100 (most likely requiring at least a runner-up finish) to earn a full tour card for 2026. However, there is a safety net for the Waterford man if he doesn’t manage to do so. The eight-tournament FedEx Cup Fall Series, which concludes with the RSM Classic at the end of November, gives players a second chance to move into the top-100.Esther Henseleit selects a club with her caddie and husband Reece Phillips during last weekend's AIG Women's Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes, England. Photograph: Warren Little/Getty Images Word of Mouth“Without him I wouldn’t be here. He’s been caddying for me for like, what, five years. Coaching me for five years as well. We have made so many improvements together and we’re just a great team. We also manage to enjoy each other’s company 24/7 which is great, it’s just great memories we are able to create together” – Germany’s Esther Henseleit on working with husband/caddie/coach Reece Phillips. Henseleit achieved a career-best runner-up finish in a Major when coming out on the wrong side of the playoff with Japan’s Shiho Kuwaki at the AIG Women’s Open on Sunday. On this day: August 4, 1996When it finally came, Justin Leonard’s breakthrough win on the PGA Tour – in the Buick Open at Warwick Hills in Grand Blanc, Michigan – came with a $216,000 payday and a great big sense of relief.“I get tired of the same questions. The one I get tired of is, ‘there’s a trend on the tour of younger guys breaking through, why haven’t you?’. I’ve done it. I don’t have to hear that any more,” said Leonard. He had joined the professional ranks two years previously after a stellar amateur career that saw him win both the Haskins Award and the Jack Nicklaus Award for his collegiate endeavours, as well as a US Amateur Open.The victory in Michigan came in style, putting together rounds of 65-64-69-68 for a 22-under-par 266, which left him five strokes clear of his nearest pursuer Chip Beck.Leonard put the celebrations on hold, though, as he headed directly on to the PGA Championship where he would finish tied-fifth. “This is something I want to feed off, just the feeling of accomplishment,” said Leonard, savouring that first of what would be 12 career wins on the PGA Tour,. His crowning glory came in 1997 when he won the Claret Jug. Social SwingJust ordered some yellow golf balls from @Titleist after watching the final round @AIGWomensOpen. Congratulations @HullCharley @LottieWoad on solid weeks – Justin Rose impressed with the yellow ball used by Japan’s Shiho Kuwaki on her way to winning a breakthrough Major at Royal Birkdale.Always the best week of the year playing at home in the @AIGWomensOpen Thank you to everyone who came out to support me this week, sorry we couldn’t get it done, but we gave it a good go #6th – Lottie Woad, who has been top-10 in each of her three Women’s Open appearances.One of the greatest lessons in gold is that you should never stop learning. I have always believed there is something to learn from every player, and Bernhard Langer continues to set an extraordinary example. His commitment to fitness, discipline and preparation has allowed him to compete at the highest level for decades. That dedication inspires me and even after all these years, I still watch, learn and strive to improve. That is the beauty of this wonderful game – 90-year-old Gary Player on being inspired by 68-year-old Bernhard Langer. Michael Thorbjornsen with the Rocket Classic championship trophy following his victory at Detroit Golf Club on Sunday. Photograph: Raj Mehta/Getty Images In the Bag: Michael Thorbjornsen (Rocket Classic)Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D LS (9 degrees)Mini-driver: TaylorMade r7 Mini (13.5 degrees)Irons: TaylorMade P-770 (3), P-7MC (4), P-7MB (5-PW)Wedges: TaylorMade MG5 (52, 55 and 60 degrees)Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour XBall: TaylorMade TP5 Know the RulesQ: In a singles match, a player concedes their opponent’s next stroke, picks up the opponent’s ball and rolls it to them along the putting surface. The player did so out of courtesy, for the purpose of returning the ball to their opponent. What is the ruling?A: There is no penalty. Such a situation is covered under Clarification 13.1e/1: As the player’s action was not for the purpose of testing the putting green, there is no penalty for testing under Rule 13.1e.