
Cathal Butler (Kinsale)
Friday was a bad day for Cork golfers in Lahinch as the matchplay stages of the Pierse Motors South of Ireland got underway. Four Cork golfers qualified through to the top 64 matchplay, but by Friday evening all four had exited the competition. Paul McCarthy made a stunning start to the competition on Wednesday and Thursday during the strokeplay qualifying rounds. McCarthy was -5 for 36 holes but lost out in the matchplay when David Foy beat him on the 16th green. Peter O’Keeffe also lost out in the first round. Robbie Cannon, his playing partner from Wednesday and Thursday got the better of him with an impressive 6&4 win.
Golffile Gallery from Day 3 at Lahinch
John Hickey won his morning match against Rosslare’s Gary Collins but then lost out in the second round when beaten by Daniel Holland by one hole. Kinsale’s Cathal Butler also made it through the first round with a win on the 18th green over former champions Pat Murray. Like the other Cork golfers though, he lost out in one of the later matches this afternoon, losing on the 16th to Stephen Watts. The final 16 are back on the course tomorrow morning and four more round face the finalists when the competition concludes on Sunday.
South of Ireland Amateur Continue reading



Castlemartyr Golf Club will hold its annual scratch cups weekend from Friday 29th July to Sunday the 31st. This has proven to be a very popular weekend in the past for golfers and the club are expecting large numbers again this year. Last year saw numbers exceeding 400 over the three days. The scratch cup weekend caters for Junior, Intermediate and Minor golfers and there will be a total of €2,500 worth of prizes up for grabs. Once again Castlemartyr Golf Club will be partnering with McCarthy Insurance Group who will be sponsoring this event. The McCarthy Insurance Group have sponsored this event for the past four years and are one of the main reasons why it has been such a success.

Fermoy’s Brian O’Callaghan topped off a great week yesterday with a win in the Cork Junior Scratch Cup. On Wednesday evening Brian was involved in a dramatic finish to the AIG Junior Cup area final, he birdied the 19th in Blarney to send his Fermoy team through to the Munster Finals. The left hander was back in form on Sunday and went around the course in Little Island in a one over par 73. O’Callaghan finished one shot clear of the field in the Top Golfer Tour event, just ahead of Kinsle’s Mervyn Young. Cork’s Eddie Cagney took third place with the best of a large number of 75’s. Monkstown’s Gerry Holland won the nett category with 68, beating Ronan Cullinane by one stroke. The course in Cork was in great 
