IRISH eyes were smiling on a County Durham golfer before she returned for a taste of a different green after landing back in the North-East.

Jessica Hall, an England Under-18s international, earned a top-25 finish at the Irish Girls Open Strokeplay Championship and was then invited to test out a new section at her own course.

The Reigning Durham County Ladies champion was invited to become the first golfer to try out two new greens at the Bishop Auckland Golf Club she has attended regularly for the last six years.

Bishop Auckland’s members are proud and excited by the reopening of the 15th and 16th greens following a major redesign project which has taken almost five months to complete.

The new structure provides a different test to previous years having had a completely overhaul courtesy of course architect Jonathan Gaunt and sports surface specialist Marc Kerr.

Hall said: "The new greens are outstanding and a real challenge for golfers of all abilities. They look great and are a huge improvement on the previous ones with new bunkers to avoid and more undulations and swirls to think about.”

After receiving the Witton-le-Wear teenager’s seal of approval, Bishop Auckland will officially open the two greens this weekend when Saturday’s April medal will be played on them.

Bishop Auckland’s captain Andy Graham said: “We are all excited to be members of a club that is investing for the future.

“We are committed to continuing with our program of course improvements because this is what our members and visitors want to see from a modern and progressive golf club. This new and exciting development will attract golfers from all over the North-East to visit us at Bishop Auckland.”

Playing at Bishop over the last few years has certainly aided Hall’s development as she tries to reach a standard whereby she will eventually play on Tour.

The 16-year-old, who will be looking to defend the Durham crown next month, has been a regular on the England selectors’ radar for a number of years and highlighted her potential again last week.

Hall finished tied 23rd at the Irish Girls Strokeplay Championship. She followed up an opening round 80 with a 78 and 74 over the tough Roganstown Golf and Country Club track.

She finished with a 232 shot total along with Lurgan’s Annabel Wilson, which was 14 shots shy of leaders Olivia Mehaffey and Sammy Fuller.

England’s Fuller birdied the last hole to force a sudden-death play-off. Her bid for the title ended on the second hole of the play-off when Ireland’s Mehaffey chipped dead to secure a winning birdie four – and her third consecutive victory in the championship.

The international team event was won by Sweden, one shot ahead of England and Scotland.

l For more information on Bishop Auckland’s new greens or the club please contact the secretary on (01388) 661618 or visit us at www.bagc.co.uk