Sara Byrne continued her current run of form with a solid, performance at the World Amateur Team Championships in Abu Dhabi last week.  Byrne started with a blistering 68 on the opening day, taking full advantage of an early tee time and cooler playing conditions.  Six birdies in that opening round showed that the course was set up for low scores and at the end of the opening day Byrne led the field of 108 golfers.  A later tee time on the second day meant Sara was playing in the hottest part of the day, and a disappointing 75 followed.  Two further rounds of 73 and 72 would leave the Douglas golfer with a level par return and just outside the top 30.  Importantly, Sara’s score counted towards the Irish team score on all four day, with two scores from three counting each day.  Ireland finished in 13th place after the four days.

There were sweltering conditions all week, and ultimately it was the Lahinch golfer, Aine Donegan, who made the most of her chances and she was still in contention in the individual rankings heading into the final round.  However, a closing 74 ensured she finished in T25, just ahead of Byrne, who ended up in T31.  Coulter also had a strong start to the week but couldn’t back up her initial round of 71 and Ireland were unfortunate to miss out on a top ten finish.

“Coming into the week you obviously want to win, but our goal was definitely top 10.  A bit disappointing not to achieve that but the standard is so high nowadays,” said team captain Naoimh Quigg.  “The temperatures were incredible. I love the heat myself but this was a different level. It was a long walking course as well.  It definitely did affect performance, Áine suffered a bit of heat exhaustion on day two.  We decided to schedule our practice to first thing in the morning or late in the evenings.”

The attention now turns to the World Amateur Team Championships in Singapore in 2025 while this Ireland team will continue their own personal journeys.  “The desire and commitment from the team and Golf Ireland to strive for this is immense. A podium finish in Singapore is definitely achievable” added Quigg.  “What we can take away from this week is, yes we can compete with the best in the world on any given day.”

But Quigg knows they showed plenty this week to suggest they can operate at the top level of amateur golf going forward. “We proved that in day one. Also a level or +1 day score is disappointing now for us. We know the areas we need to keep improving on.”

Robbie Walsh took second place in the Intervarsity Championship which took place last week.  Laytown and Bettystown was the venue, and the Louth venue avoided the heavy rain which close courses across the south of the country.  The Douglas golfer, representing UCC opened with a level par 71 which left him five shots off the lead.  A second round 66 tied the low round of the week and moved him up to second place, just one shot off the lead which was held by Liam Abom.  Walsh was in with a shout of the title on the final day after an eagle on the fourth hole, but a double bogey two holes later stopped his momentum.  At the same time the leader Abom moved ahead with a few birdies, meaning Walsh would have to settle for the runner up spot.  It was a good way to close the season for Walsh who won the Lee Valley Scratch Cup in April, his -6 total was made up of some very solid golf.

A final round 67 from Jordan Boles saw him finish just behind Walsh.  The Charleville golfer is in his final year in Maynooth University and after rounds of 70 and 71, he was also in reach of the lead going into the final round.  An early bogey proved costly as he followed up with five birdies to finish on -5 for the tournament.

Jack Murphy, Ronan O’Keeffe and Sean Healy were the winning trio for St Francis Rochestown when they topped the Irish Senior Schools Championship qualifier in Mallow.  Murphy shot a bogey free 67 to finish five under par and finish with 41 points.  O’Keeffe finished on one under for 37 points and Healy was a few shots back.

Hailey Martinez led Mount Mercy to a girls section win with 37 points, she was joined by Claudia O’Donoghue and Letitia O’Sullivan on the winning side.  Kinsale Community School finished in second place with Amysue Broderick and Katie Rose Broderick on their team.