Author: niall@corkgolfnews.com

AIG Pierce Purcell Shield Quarter final line-up complete

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Munster Golf LogoBlarney and Mahon hosted several first round matches on Sunday and the line up for Saturday morning’s eight matches is now complete.  Lee Valley and Muskerry won in Blarney and the matches on Saturday morning are as follows:

Lee Valley v Macroom
Skibbereen v Lisselan
Blarney v Bandon
Dunmore v Muskerry

There were three matches down for decision on Sunday afternoon in Mahon and Raffeen Creek, Douglas and Cobh all came through.  The four matches in Mahon on Saturday are:

Raffeen Creek v Fermoy
Mahon v Douglas
Cork v East Cork
Fota Island v Cobh

Full details of the draw are available here

No Joy for Murphy in France

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John Murpyh Apr 2017There was no joy for John Murphy in Paris today as he tried to improve his position at the French Amateur Open.  Murphy was tied for 5th place after 36 holes and with 36 more to play today.  Unfortunately the Kinsale man couldn’t capitalise and a morning 72 (+1) meant that a win was out of reach.  Things weren’t much better in the final round this afternoon, an eagle on the par five ninth was the only positive to report.   He singed for a 74 in the afternoon giving him a final score of +2 in a tie for 20th place.  Murphy is staying in France this week and will play in the Alps Tour event that takes place in ClementAder.

Sugrue wins in Castletroy, Bank of Ireland Castletroy Scratch Cup

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James Surue Castletroy SC 2017James Sugrue captured the Bank of Ireland Castletroy Scratch Cup this afternoon as a second round 69 saw him jump into a winning position.  Four birdies and a single bogey meant that the Mallow man signed for a 69 and when added to his morning 72, he finished three shots clear of the field.  David Reddan and Deam McMahon both finished on level par, with Reddan taking 2nd place on the countback.  John Hickey was 6th on 147 and Paul Tobin had another good finish taking the second nett prize.  A full field of 75 golfers took to the course for the 36 hole event.

Sugrue was just two shots off the first round lead at lunchtime.  Castletroy’s John Hadnett shot a two under par 70 to hold the lead.  Dean McMahon and Paul Tobin were in on 71 and Sugrue was in a group on 72.

Needless to say Sugure was delighted with his win and a credits a recent equipment change to his success.  “I changed back to my old putter last week and I think that’s made a real difference” said a happy winner.  “The course was in great shape, the greens were very nice and the course did suit me.  There were a lot of two irons off the tees today.”  The Bank of Ireland sponsored competition is one of the Continue reading →

Murphy in contention in France

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CGN_Lee Valley SSC_23rd Apr 2017-639John Murphy is in the top five heading into the final day of the French Amateur Open at Chantilly Golf Club.  Murphy started the second round in a tie for 12th place but shot 3 under to jump up seven places.  Murphy had six birdies but a cold putter and lost ball meant that he dropped three shots to sign for a 68.

With 36 holes to come tomorrow the Kinsale teenager will fancy his chances even though there’s a four shot gap between himself and the leader.  Denmark’s Marcus Helligkilde is in the lead on his own on -7 while Raphael Geissler (Germany) is in second place on -6.  Murphy had an Continue reading →

No Joy for Cork Golfers

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Tom ClearyThere was no joy today for the seniors who were playing in the Irish Seniors Open Championship in Co Tipperary, and Brian O’Donovan also failed to secure a full card in the PGA China final qualifying.

Holder Tom Cleary was among the local hopefuls in action but he couldn’t match the results of 2016 and rounds of 78,76,78 saw him finish just inside the top 20.  Not much of a consolation but he was the highest placed golfer from Cork after the three rounds.  Doneraile’s Tahg Heenan opened with a disappointing 81 on Wednesday but closed with two rounds of 76 to finish one shot behind Cleary and inside the top 30.  Micheal Quirke had threatened the lead on day one after shooting a 73 but rounds of 79 yesterday and 82 today saw him drop out of contention.  Kinsale’s Jerry Crean was the only other Cork golfer to make the cut and he finished one shot behind Quirke.  The winner was Wales Nicholas Grimmitt who finished on +7 to edge out Tramore’s John Mitchell by one shot.

Bandon’s Brian O’Donovan was in action in the final round of qualifying at the PGA China Tour School this morning.  O’Donovan had been hoping to claim on of the 16 full tour cards on offer after posting rounds of 71/72/70.  The wheels came off on the final round however and O’Donovan shot a 77 to finish outside the qualifiers.  In the past O’Donovan has used Monday qualifying to gain entry into some of the events, the Shenzen based professional is a Lead Instructor at one of the Mission Hills Academies in Shenzen.

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Tralee set to host Kerry Scratch Cup

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Kerry Scratch Cup 2017A bumper €2,500 prize fund is in place for the Kerry Scratch Cup which takes place in mid June.  The 54 hole event will again attract WAGR points and it has the added benefit of counting towards the Munster Senior Order of Merit, which will decide on half of the places for the Senior-Interprovincials.

The event is again sponsored by Kerry Group and the winner will take away €700.  36 holes will be played on Saturday 10th June with the top 30 golfers qualifying for the final round on Sunday 11th.  Holder Jack Pierse is expected to ddefend his title with Andrew mcCormack, David Reddan and Peter O’Keeffe all hoping to do better after featuring in the top five last year.

The Arnold Palmer designed course is always an attraction but this year it has the added bonus of hosting the AIG Cups and Shields finals.  The Barton, Senior Cup and Junior Cup will all take place in Tralee in August.  There have been a few changes to the course and clubhouse over the winter, work has been carried to remodel the bunkers and the changing rooms, pro-shop and foyer have all been upgraded.  The timesheet is now open and anyone interested should contact Alan Kelly on 086 3840630 or at alan.kelly@traleegolfclub.com

Muskerry through in thrilling Fred Daly area final

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Muskerry Fred Daly Area Final 2017Muskerry had a great win in the Fred Daly Trophy area final last night, beating Mallow in a very close match.  Blarney was the venue for the match and Mallow would have been favourites to advance.  They had a big handicap advantage on paper and most of the players would have much more experience at this level of inter-club competition.

Jack Egan was first out for Muskerry and he beat Ed Walsh on the 18th to set a strong positive tone for the winners.  As it happened the first point was already in the bag for Muskerry, Jack Taylor was giving up five shots in his match but still recorded a 4&3 win to claim a point for Muskerry.  Taylor’s match was the only one not to go the full distance.  When Egan closed out his mast on the 18th shortly after the advantage was clearly with the underdogs.  The winning point came from  Sean Geary who holed out from the fairway on the last hole, Geary birdied from 70 yards to win one up and secure the win for his club.  At the same time Fionn Hickey was headed up the 19th after finishing level after 18 holes.  He was called in, as was Eoghan O’Shaughnessy who was one up in his match on the 18th.  It was a hugely impressive win considering that Muskerry were giving up an aggregate of 21 shots in five matches.  The subs were Stephen Riordan and Peter O’Mahony, and the squad was under the watchful eye of Dave Taylor and Peter Fenlon.

Fred Daly trophy South Munster Draw 2017

It’s been a great run for Muskery, the beat a fancied Fota Island side in the semi-final and beat Castlemartyr and Fermoy in the earlier rounds.  Muskerry now go on to the Munster finals which take place in Fermoy in early August.

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