James Sugrue and John Murphy both recorded rounds of 72 to lie two shots behind the leader after the first round of the Leinster Students Championship today. The dry but windy day in Newlands was a welcome change for both, they had played in Kerry Scratch Cup in Tralee over the weekend and had endured driving wind and rain for much of the 54 holes. Sugrue and Murphy had near identical rounds in the tight parkland layout, four birdies and five bogies added up to a +1 result for the opening round. They are two shots behind leader Ross Dutton (Ulster University). Waterford Duo Ben Murray and Eanna Griffin are tied for second place on level par. Griffin travelled from Athenry where he won the Connacht Continue reading
Author: niall@corkgolfnews.com
Tralee Win for O’Keeffe, Kerry Scratch Cup
Peter O’Keeffe overcame a one shot deficit in the final nine holes in Tralee today to claim the prestigious Kerry Scratch Cup. O’Keeffe was joint leader going into the final round but Tralee’s Fergal O’Sullivan led by one shot after 45 holes. It was a tough day for the players in Tralee, O’Sullivan was +3 at the turn and O’Keeffe was +4 as high winds and squally rain did its best to wear down the competitors.
O’Keeffe had a tough start, he lost a ball out of bounds on the third, and frustratingly he could see the ball was less than a foot on the wrong side of the markers. A triple bogey there was a setback but O’Keeffe parred the next nine holes to get back into contention. He parred the difficult 12th hole to get back to a share of the lead and his only birdie of the day came on the 14th when he took Continue reading
O’Keeffe leads in Tralee, Kerry Scratch Cup
Tough weather conditions meant that the scoring was high in Tralee, but Peter O’Keeffe finished his 36 holes tied for the lead. Rounds of 76 and 75 from O’Keeffe were matched by Tralee’s Fergal O’Sullivan. The Tralee man has won already this season, he retained his Ballybunion Scratch Title a few weeks ago and will be fancied by locals. Both O’Sullivan and O’Keeffe are on 151, three shots ahead of second placed John Murphy who had two rounds of 77.
Gary Ward is the next best Cork player, but he’s 11 shots off the lead and in 12th place. Cathal Butler and James Sugrue were both in contention after the first round, but they both had afternoon rounds in the mid eighties which has all but ruled out a win.
Third round takes place tomorrow and is limited to the top 30.
Kerry Scratch Cup (36 hole scores)
151 Peter O’Keeffe, 76,75
151 Fergal O’Sullivan 76,75
154 John Murphy 77,77
155 Ted Collins 77,78
156 Evan Farrell 78, 78
Selected others:
162 Gary Ward
164 Con O’Callaghan
165 Cathal Butler
165 James Sugrue
167 Cillian Moloney
170 Conor Dowling
Kerry Scratch Cup Drawsheet
Tees for tomorrow’s first round:
AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield :: Munster Finals 2017
AIG Pierce Purcell Shield :: Munster Finals 2017
Kenmare & Ring of Kerry double up for Scratch Cup weekend
Kenmare Golf Club and Ring of Kerry Golf Club have joined forces for this September.
The competitions will feature Senior, Junior, Intermediate and Minor grades in both venues.
There are two Scratch cups on in Kenmare for the weekend of Sept 2nd and 3rd.
There are excellent prizes on offer for all categories, and entry is only €20 for guests for each competition.
Why not book a weekend away in Kenmare and play two of the best courses in Kerry, bookings can be made by calling Kenmare on 064 6641291 or Ring of Kerry on 064 6642000. Bookings can also be made online with both clubs.
Mahon March On in Pierce Purcell Shield
Mahon won the South Munster area final last night in very competitive and sporting game in Lee Valley. Mahon and Macroom were the last two teams standing after winning three matches each at their respective venue qualifiers. Despite the heavy rain, the course in Lee Valley was in great condition and the course provided a solid test for all of the golfers. Mahon as usual had a huge number of supporters while Macroom members were also well represented. Both clubs seemed evenly matched overall and after the front nine it was very close.
Gallery: Mahon v Macroom, AIG Pierce Purcell Shield Area Final
Mahon secured the first point on the 13th green when Declan Power and Michael Sexton beat Ed Neville and John Donvovan. Macroom balanced the scorecard soon after with another early win. Martin Kavanagh and William Buttimer beat Continue reading
Cleary takes 2nd place in Connacht Seniors
Cork’s Tom Cleary heralded the start to his season when he took second place at the Connacht Seniors today. The former Munster and Irish Seniors winner shot a par par 73 today in Claremorris to jump up the leaderboard and take the runner-up spot. Cleary had three birdies on the back nine to get back to level par for the day. He finished one shot behind winner Nigel Duke (Killiney) who retained the title he won last year. Cleary was the only golfer to match par over the two days as the golfers struggled in testing weather conditions.
Pat Lyons (Cork) and Donie O’Donovan (Bandon) both finished in a tie for 11th place. Both golfers put in a challenge on the front nine today but they faded on the back nine as they dropped a number of shots. Michael Quirke (Doneraile) was in Continue reading
Gallery: Mahon v Macroom, AIG Pierce Purcell Shield Area Final
Pictures from Lee Valley this evening: Continue reading
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