Sunday started with high hopes for plenty of golfers, O’Donovan, O’Brien and Gorey were all in contention at the Irish Mid-Am in New Forrest.  Cian McNamara and Wayne O’Callaghan were in the top 10 in the Shell Carne Pro-Am and Fernhill were due to take on Blarney in the first round of the Barton Shield at Muskerry.

Barton Shield First Round
It was Fernhill’s first time playing in the Barton Shield and great credit must be given to the small new club for fielding a team at this level.  For many years clubs have entered the competition in November, only to withdraw in the weeks before the competition.  The odds were always going to be stacked against Fernhill as they faced Blarney and although they made a good match of it, Blarney won with a few holes to spare.  The final scoreline of 5&4 means that Blarney will face hosts Muskerry on the second round next Saturday.  Mahon received a walkover from Bantry and they will face Bandon.  Full Barton Shield draw.

Irish Mid-Amateur Championship
Dave O’Donovan was in 6th place overnight and was looking forward to having a good run in the final round.  O’Donovan had a good front nine but dropped seven shots on the back nine including a triple bogey on the 12th.  He signed for a round of 81.  The CSS of 76 (R/O) gave an indication of the difficult conditions on the final day, when Paul Flynn’s round of 73 was the best of the day by three strokes.  Niall Gorey shot a final round 77 to jump up the lraderboard for a share of 3rd place, John O’Brien however signed for an 85 that saw him drop out of the top ten.  The Championship was won by Tony McClements from Holywood GC.  Irish Mid Amateur Championship Final Results

Top 6 Finish for McNamara in Shell Carne Pro-Am
Monkstown’s Cian McNamara carded a two over par 73 in the second round at Carne to keep his top ten position in the €20,000 event.  McNamara was level par for the day until the 11th where he dropped a shot.  He bounced back with two birdies on 12 and 13, but he dropped three shots on the way back to finish in 6th place.  Damien McGrane and Eamonn Brady tied for first place, and Killarney’s Danny Sugrue was one shot off the lead in third place.  Wayne O’Callaghan had a disappointing second round, he was +6 on day two and finished just inside the top 20.  Shell Pro-Am at Carne Golf Links Leaderboard

Kinsale beat Fota Island in Fred Daly Trophy area-final – link