Author: niall@corkgolfnews.com

Brian & Cian conquer Monkstown challenge

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Monkstown Golf Club 180 Hole Challenge

Brian & Cian still smiling after completing ten rounds of golf

Monkstown Golf Club was the place to be last Saturday, with warm sunshine, a members barbeque, chipping competitions for adults and kids, it was a really enjoyable atmosphere.  That wasn’t the case for everyone as there were two players out on the course completing their final round in a 180 hole challenge.  Monkstown PGA Professional Cian McNamara and General Manager Brian Hurley set themselves a pretty unique challenge of playing ten rounds of golf in one day.  Just after 9.30pm, Cian and Brian had their chance to sit back and enjoy the atmosphere and the hospitality.  Close on 17 hours after they started out, they putted out on the 18th green for the final tine after completing all 180 holes.

The day started at 4.30am – 28 minutes before dawn broke, when both golfers hit the first ball.  A crowd of members gathered at the first tee, including the Captain and President to cheer McNamara and Hurley as the set off on the Continue reading →

Trojan effort from O’Keeffe just falls short

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Gameface; Peter O'Keeffe in action in the South of Ireland in Lahinch last year

Peter O’Keeffe in action in the South of Ireland in Lahinch last year

Peter O’Keeffe’s two week marathon is finally over, but after eight rounds of golf in five days the Douglas member came agonisingly close to claiming his second major amateur title.  This morning O’Keeffe dispatched Robert Brazill on the 17th green to reach the final of the North of Ireland in Portrush.  This afternoon he faced England’s Arron Edwards-Hill in the final.  Having spent last week in Lahinch caddying for Robin Dawson, O’Keeffe was onto day 11 of his golfing marathon.  He was heading into his 14th round this afternoon, and he was determined to give it his all in pursuit of the famous provincial title.

Gallery: Golffile’s North of Ireland Final Round Gallery

The final started with a few scrappy holes, Edwards-Hill won the first, Peter won the second, and Edwards-Hill won the third when O’Keeffe lost a ball.  But after that the golf improved with both Continue reading →

Top Four for Fionn in Leinster, Final Four for Peter in Portstewart

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Douglas Senior Senior Scratch Cup26th May 2019

Fionn Hickey

It was another positive day for Cork golfers, 16 year old Fionn Hickey was in the prizes a the Leinster Boys while Peter O’Keeffe dispatched another two challengers and is into the semi-final of the North of Ireland.

Muskerry’s Fionn Hickey continued his positive set of results this summer with a fourth place finish at the Leinster Boys.  Played in Waterford Golf Club over the past three days, Hickey close with a one under par 70.  Three birdies in his final five holes helped the Muskerry golfer move up one spot on the leaderboard, and he also won the best Under 17 prize.  Mel Deasy (Lee Valley) finished inside the top ten, two birdies on the back nine helped improve his position after going through the front nine in +3 today.  Keelan McCarthy and Robbie Walsh came home together in 14th position.  Both golfers shot identical rounds of 74,73,78 over the three days, while Mallow’s Daniel O’Sullivan was one shot back in 22nd place.

In Portstewart, Peter O’Keeffe claimed his fourth matchplay win in two day, closing out all four matches before he reached the 18th hole.  In the round of 32, O’Keeffe faced Jake Rowe from Tandragee, and he beat the Ulsterman 2&1.  This afternoon he faced Malone’s Matthew McClean in the quarter-final and closed out the match on the 16th after holding a solid lead throughout.

Douglas Senior Senior Scratch Cup26th May 2019

Peter O’Keeffe

Tomorrow morning the Douglas golfer will face the top qualifier and 2018 West of Ireland winner Rob Brazill from Naas.  Both golfers are currently on the Irish Senior Mens panel and it promises to be an interesting match.  In the second semi final, Liam Grehan will take on Arron Edwards-Hill.  O’Keeffe has been on the road for well over a week.  Last week he caddied for his friend Rob Dawson in the Irish Open in Lahinch, and when they finished up on Sunday, O’Keeffe made the long journey to the Northern coastline for Monday’s first round in the strokeplay qualifier.

Vintage celebration for Vintners GS

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Cork Vintners 50th Anniversary_June 2019_1

Pat Bourke, Peter Collins and Fergal Murray pictured at Douglas Golf Club. Picture: Niall O’Shea

The Cork Vintners GS celebrated their 50th anniversary in style recently with a great day out in Douglas and Carrigaline recently.  Douglas Golf Club was the first stop for the society and they had a packed timesheet for a bumper society outing.  With past captains and officers joining the large current playing membership, it was a day to enjoy the golf and the stories that spanned the last 50 years.  After the golf it was off to Carrigaline Court Hotel where Peter Collins hosted 150 people for a gala celebration dinner.  Chairman of the organising committee Michael O’Donovan was delighted with the day and night.  “A great night was had by all in The Carrigaline Court Hotel where almost 150 people told stories and sang and danced the night away. I must thank John McHenry and all the team at Douglas Golf Club, the course was in fantastic condition and the Continue reading →

Last 16 for O’Keeffe in North

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Peter O'Keeffe

Peter O’Keeffe

The O’Keeffe train kept on pulling today.  After well over a week on the road Peter O’Keeffe put together back to back wins in Portstewart today to get through to the last 16 in the North of Ireland.  He had another action packed day today, at 8.03am he was on the first tee facing Eoghan Collins.  A steady performance saw him dispatch the Laytown & Bettystown member on the 16th.  This afternoon he faced Rosslare’s Ian Lynch, and the Douglas man got off  to a flier winning four of the first seven holes.  O’Keeffe held his lead before eventually winning 3&1.  He’s now safely through to tomorrow’s third round where he’ll face Tandragee’s Jake Rowe.

After spending most of last week in Lahinch where he was working with Robin Dawson, O’Keeffe left Co Clare on Sunday to head for the North, where he had an afternoon tee time for the first round in Castlerock.  A poor start on Monday (+5) was followed by a very impressive 69 on Tuesday when he played on Portstewart’s championship links.

Paul Buckley had a good win this morning when the Kanturk native had a 4&2 win against Barry Cashman.  That saw him face Geoff Lenehan in the second round. Buckley was one up early doors but Portmarnock’s Lenehan, who was tied as the strokeplay leader battled hard and won 4&2.

Cathal Butler was a casualty in this morning’s first round.  Despite a bright start which saw him go two up on Aaron Edwards Hill, the Englishman fought back and beat Butler on the 17th.

Monkstown’s 180 hole Challenge

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Cian McNamara Jul 2019Monkstown Golf Club are hosting a unique challenge on Saturday, two golfers will try and complete 180 holes in one day. Monkstown’s Club Professional Cian McNamara and General Manager Brian Hurley have set themselves the challenge to play ten rounds of golf in one day. Playing under the rules of golf, and counting both scores, the pair will be walking the course adding to the difficulty of the task. Starting at 4.30am on Saturday morning (28 minutes before dawn!), the challenge is expected to last well into the evening, and with no guarantee of success the two PGA Professionals will have a long day ahead of them on Saturday. The only other similar feat in Cork was completed by Lee Valley’s Denis O’Brien who completed seven rounds at the Clashnure course in Ovens well over a decade ago.

While other similar challenges have been completed in the US, the ten round target is a unique event in Ireland. The event is a fundraiser for the Monkstown Cups and Shields teams, and give that the Club Pro and the GM are doing all of the hard work, it’s not surprising that many of the club members have jumped in to sponsor the holes. All 180 holes in the challenge are now sponsored and with Ronan Murphy’s Smarttech 24/7 joining in as the main sponsor for the event, the club is well on the way to achieving the €10,000 target they set for themselves.

The event has become a real talking point in Monkstown, with many golfers question the reality (and sanity) of trying to complete the 180 hole challenge. That said there’s a great atmosphere around the fundraiser and a large number of members and supporters are expected to come out to cheer on the two golfers on Saturday. While there won’t be too many out for the 4.30am start, it is expected that the crowds will build, especially on Saturday evening.