Castlemartyr played host to the second Munster PGA event on Monday and the winner was Cian McNamara.  The Monkstown man is also the Munster PGA Captain and he went around the par 72 course in 67 strokes.  Three birdies in the first four holes set the pace for McNamara and he also birdied the 9^th to turn on -4.  He added a fifth birdie on the index one 10^th hole, and despite a scare on the last he kept bogies off the card which was enough to win by one.  Paddy Sheehy (Lahinch) was also on fire on the greens, recording a total of eight birdies.  Unfortunately for Sheehy his round also included four bogies, that meant he signed for a 68 taking second place.  Third place went to David Ryan who was also under par with a 71.  Darragh Morrissey took the Assistants prize while Liam Burns won the Over 45 prize.  The event was sponsored by Paul McCabe & Gerry Green from Pro Quip.

Not surprisingly the team prize went to Paddy Sheehy’s team.  He was joined by Diarmuid Fraser, Darragh Morrissey and Robert Kelly as the combined for an impressive better-ball score of 60.  Aside from having a solid game overall, the greens suited McNamara as his round included eight one putts.  He now leapfrogs Tim Rice on top of the Premium Golf Brands order of merit.  The new format of individual, team and category prizes again resulted in a large turnout, with several apologies from those unable to play.

Castlemartyr was in great shape for the event, firm fairways and fast greens were the order of the day for the 30 PGA Professionals as the took on the Ron Kirby designed inland links.  The course in Castlemartyr celebrated 10 years this summer and as usual much of the scoring happened on the front nine with several golfers turning in red numbers.  The back nine in Castlemartyr is often considered to be a stiffer test and based on the cards it played at least two shots more difficult.  Castlemartyr’s PGA Professional Alan Gleeson welcomed the Munster PGA to the resort with a complimentary breakfast which was very much appreciated, especially by the golfers who travelled from Clare, Limerick, Kerry and Tipperary.  The next event on the winter series schedule takes place in Killarney in two weeks time and in a small change to the schedule, Castletroy will host the final event before Christmas.  Another three or four singles events will be planned for January and February, and a season ending pro-am is planned for Monkstown to coincide with the Morgan O’Donovan Perpetual Trophy.