Youghal’s Dan Murphy won his second scratch cup of the year last weekend when he shot a level par 72 to win the Castlemartyr Junior Scratch.  Murphy previously won in Lee Valley last May with a three over par 75.  He bettered that over the weekend with a solid round of 72.  He carded 16 pars and his only bogey happened on the front nine.  A birdie on the 16th got him back to level par and two further pars on 17 and 18 saw him take the clubhouse lead.  Cork’s Tony McKeown was one shot further back, his 73 was good enough to take second place.  Robert Williams (Cork) was third with a 74 and Con O’Donnell (East Cork) won the gross prize with a 69.

Castlemartyr was a busy spot as their Intermediate and Minor Cups also took place, all three competitions were sponsored by McCarthy Insurance Group.  Over 400 golfers took part in the competition which ran over three days.  The Intermediate Cup was won by Padraig Doyle playing out of Waterville.  He shot a 78 and led the field by one stroke.  James Long (Cahir Park) was second with a 79 and John Gallagher (East Cork) was third with 80.  Kevin O’Keeffe from Frankfield won the best gross with a 67.  The Minor Cup was won by Joe Whelehan from East Cork.  Whelehan shot an 88 but needed a better back nine to take the title from Slievenamon’s Gerard McCarthy.  Stephen O’Sullivan from Ring of Kerry took third place with 89 and Cormac Moroney (Youghal) won best gross with 73.

Castlemartyr Captain John Paul Twomey was delighted with the success of the weekend which is now a firm favourite for the August Weekend.  There was very positive feedback too from some of the golfers as Twomey described: “We were delighted with the event from start to finish, kind compliments were made to me from numerous players and prize winners regarding the excellent course conditions and course set up.  Another huge positive was kind words regarding the help afforded to players from club members who assisted as ballspotters and rangers and other roles, this is now unique to this event.  It’s great to see this event grow from strength to strength every year and it is now well established as a must do on golfers calendars on the August weekend.”

The Muskerry Junior Scratch Cup takes place on Saturday, anyone interested in playing should contact the club about availability.  Bandon have rescheduled their Senior and Junior Scratch Cups to Sunday 24^th August.  The cups were originally scheduled for April but were postponed due to adverse weather.  The Fota Intermediate Scratch Cup also takes place on Sunday 24^th August.