Kinsale’s John Murphy
John Murphy stormed to the top of the leaderboard on day 2 of the Munster Students Championship, thanks to an excellent 68. He’s now four shots clear of the field on 6 under par. 68 was a popular number in Cork Golf Club today, with both James McKeever and Cathal Butler posting 68’s. Butler will disappointed despite tying the low round of the day, he was seven under before carding a triple bogey on the 17th. The Kinsale man dusted himself off and recovered with a par on the 18th. Butler recorded six birdies and an eagle, with one bogey and the triple in the impressive round.
Murphy’s 68 was less dramatic four birdies and a bogey on the front nine saw him on -3 at the turn. He added a birdie on the 10th and shot par golf for the remaining eight holes. The four hole cushion gives him a big advantage going into the final round, but there are some quality golfers in the chasing pack. Monkstown’s Sean Desmond is tied for 5th on level par and James Sugrue is just inside the top Continue reading
John Murphy (Kinsale/MU) lies just one shot off the lead after day one in the Munster Students Championship at Cork Golf Club. The Munster Boys champion finished on two under after carding four birdies and two bogies. The lead is held by Stefan Greenberg (Tandragee) and David Foy (Laytown & Bettystown)on three under, while holder Jack McDonnell (Forrest Little/MU) is just one shot off the lead.
Many of Ireland’s top young golfers will be heading for Cork next week for the inaugural staging of the Munster Students Championship. The newly named Championship replaces the Munster Youths and it features a new ladies competition along with a team competition. Munster Strokeplay Champion Cathal Butler will be joined by Munster Boys Champion John Murphy, and the Kinsale golfers will lead the strong local challenge. Both Murphy and Butler are representing Maynooth University and the home of the Harrington Scholars golf programme will travel in force. Also wearing the MU colours will be Jack McDonnell won the Munster Youths title in Monkstown last year. The team competition will see many colleges enter multiple teams, with the best two scores counting from the three person team. In the ladies competition, local hopes will rest with Muskerry’s Jean O’Driscoll (UCC) and Douglas’ Aiofe Ni Thuama 
Douglas Golf Club hosted the third round of the Cork inter-varsity league last week, and Cork IT leveled the contest with a narrow one point win over UCC. Although Cork IT have won two of the three rounds, UCC’s margin of victory in the first round meant that Cork IT were playing catch-up in the aggregate scoring format. The golfers have a quick turn around with the fourth event scheduled for Monkstown on Thursday. The final round is scheduled for Lee Valley where the overall league winners should be decided.
