By Claudia Loucks
Geneseo Current
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Allison (Farrell) Cooney didn’t just submit the winning entry into a contest that sent her and her Dad, Ron Farrell, to Ireland to play together in a golf tournament, but they also won the tournament.
Cooney won the contest, sponsored by Women’s Golf Digest and Carr Golf through the social media platform Instagram, and she and her Dad received an all-expense entry into the tournament held at the Dooks Golf Club and the Waterville Golf Links in Kerry, Ireland.
There were 32 father and daughter from five countries – United States, Canada, Ireland, England and South Africa, competing in the three-day tournament.
The festivities were held July 15-18 and included three tournament rounds, July 16-18….”All rounds were played together in two different formals, best ball or alternate shot,” Cooney explained.
She shared the first day was a four-ball format, the second day a Scotch Foursome format and the final day a Four-ball format.
“The scoring format was Stableford which is a points based scoring based off the score relative to par,” she said. “We were 19 over par for the three-day score and scored 89 points.”
They each won trophies for their winning efforts.
In addition to the tournament, Cooney and her father were able to explore Dublin for two days prior to the golf tournament and she said, “We were able to take in all of the popular sites and enjoy some local food. The tournament provided a driver form Dublin to Waterville for the tournament, and on the way we were able to drive the ‘Ring of Kerry’ and see much of the countryside.”
“The Carr Golf Family took incredible care of us from the moment we arrived in Ireland,” she said. “They coordinated transportation, accommodations, meals, etc., to make our experience memorable. The Father Daughter World Invitational is truly a world-class event that we will remember for the rest of our lives.”
She shared the link to next year’s event and added, “in case anyone is interested in attending: https://carrgolf.com/tournaments/world-invitational-father-daughter-golf-tournament.
When asked about special memories of the trip, Cooney said going into the third and final round of the golf tournament, she and her Dad were sitting in fourth or fifth place…”We were within reach of first but knew we would need a solid final day to win the gross. On the back 9 of the final day my Dad nearly made an albatross. The tap in eagle gave us some momentum going into the final stretch. On the last day my Dad made a 12 ft. birdie putt to give us the win by one.”
She also commented, “We met so many incredible people through the event that share the same love for the game. We spent quite a bit of time with a family from England and South Africa. The people we met made the memories that much sweeter.”
Cooney offered a special tribute to her Dad when she said, “You don’t get many opportunities to do a trip of this magnitude with your Dad or Daughter. Golf is such a big part of both of our lives it was incredibly special to share this experience together. My Dad has done a lot to help me succeed in the game of golf. I know I would not be where I am today without his love and support. Winning this trip was the perfect opportunity for me to give back just a small piece of what he has given me.”
We asked Cooney’s Dad, Ron Farrell of Geneseo, to share some comments, and he said he felt “like a winner before we even left for the trip, and I told myself to simply just try to enjoy every aspect of it.”
The trip was a “once in lifetime experience,” he said. ‘I’m fortunate to have two great kids and to be able to spend a week with one of them overseas is something I never dreamed of. Everything about the experience was truly unbelievable.”
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He commented that the Links style Golf courses, Carr Golf and Golf Digest “treated us to a spectacular and professional-style tournament. Allison is an exceptional player and carried the team (her father) for the majority of the three-day event, although I did have a chance to contribute on the back nine of the last day…Shooting the low gross score of the tournament was ‘icing on top’ of an already special week.”
Her Dad is right when he refers to Allison as “an exceptional player.”
Golf has long been a big part of the Farrell family as parents, Ron and Lisa Farrell, and sister, Ashley, are avid golfers.
After graduating from GHS in 2012, Cooney earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business in Supply Chain Management from Western Illinois University, Macomb, before joining the work force in 2016. She also was on the golf team at Western.
While a student at GHS, Cooney played on the golf team and earned a spot at State in her senior year where she placed in the top 25 golfers.
She was the assistant golf coach at GHS from 2016 until 2023, when she and her husband, Robert Cooney, moved to North Carolina, where they live near Raleigh. She continues to play golf recreationally and said she and her husband play golf together several times a week.
In addition to playing golf, she also volunteers at a local golf course with the First Tee program…”I am helping teach five and six-year-olds skills they can use on the golf course as well as in life,” she said.
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Allison’s Entry in Golf Contest – Why She Wanted to Play Golf with Her Dad in the Event
“At the age of 8 my Dad introduced me to the game of golf and sparked a life long passion. He has always, and will always, be my favorite golf partner. He started as my swing coach, and over time, those roles have reversed. I played college golf. 80 collegian rounds and my Dad never missed a swing. Since those days we've completed our "Spectator Grand Slam" to watch all four of the Men's Majors together. The feat was achieved at St. Andrews where my Dad took me on a golf trip of a lifetime to Scotland. I have since moved away from our hometown to pursue my dream of working in the golf industry. This means fewer rounds of golf together but makes the rounds we get that much more meaningful. Golf is much more than a game to both of us, but a way of life. Watching, playing, working, coaching - golf is always at the center of what we do together. Winning this would allow me to give my Dad just a small piece of what he has given me these past 20 years.”