Author: niall@corkgolfnews.com

O’Keeffe leads Irish Amateur going into final round, Royal County Down

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Munster Strokeplay Championship, Munster Golf, Cork Golf Club, Sunday 30th April 2017It wasn’t the low round that he promised – but in any case it was enough to give Peter O’Keeffe the lead going into tomorrow’s final round of the Flogas Irish Amateur Open.

O’Keeffe started quickly with an eagle on the opening par five, but he gave the two shots back before the turn and started the second nine level for his round.  It was an interesting back nine for all of the leading contenders.  England’s Sean Towndrow took a two shot lead on the 16th thanks to an eagle on the short par four, but two doubles followed and he closed on a 77 and +3 for the tournament.  Christopher McClean was level with O’Keeffe after 15, but bogies on the 16th & 18th saw him drop down also.

O’Keeffe continued his pattern of steady golf with the odd birdie or bogey balancing each other out.  In the end only himself and Robin Dawson (T7) could match par on the closing three holes.  That was enough for two over par 73 on day three, and surprisingly enough that see’s him with a one shot lead over Christopher McClean.  O’Keeffe (L) will be joined by Mc Clean (+1) and Marc Norton (+2) in tomorrow’s final group which tees off at 11.12.

John Murphy saw the Continue reading →

Hickey Regains Muskerry Scratch Cup Title

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Muskerry Senior Scratch Cup 2017

Jason O’Callaghan (Ryans SuperValu) presenting the Muskerry Senior Scratch Cup to Cork’s John Hickey, also included is Jim Hornibrook, Captain.

John Hickey won the Muskerry Senior Scratch Cup in Muskerry on Saturday.  The Cork member won in dramatic circumstances after a sudden death play-off which lasted for four holes.  Hickey finished the 36 holes on a score of level par after shooting rounds of 72 and 70.  He tied for the lead with Castletroy’s Andrew McCormack.  The Limerick man won in Douglas last year and rarely leaves Cork empty handed after a number of good finishes.  The play-off was an exciting affair and lasted for four holes before Hickey won with a birdie on the par three 6th.  The first hole was halved in pars, and both golfers birdied the short par four which came next.  McCormack chipped in for birdie, while Hickey two putted from just off the green.  The pair skipped the 3rd and 4th and went to half the fifth holes which was the third play-off holes.  Hickey had a chance on the fifth, he missed a six footer for birdie which McCormack got up and down from a greenside bunker.  The 6th is probably the most Continue reading →

O’Keeffe and Murphy in contention in RCD, Flogas Irish Amateur Open

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Peter O'Keeffe Apr 2017_2Peter O’Keeffe and John Murphy both sit within touching distance of the lead after solid performances in round two of the Flogas Irish Amateur Open.  Royal County  Down was firm and bouncy again today but the links proved a challenge as just a dozen golfers broke par at the testing Irish Open venue.  O’Keeffe was out this afternoon and he continued in the same form as yesterday with plenty of birdies.  Two early bogies didn’t distract the Douglas member, and he got back to level before bogeying the the ninth to turn on +1.  Three birdies followed on the back nine but a dropped shot on the 14th meant that he signed for another 70 and is now one off the lead on -2.  Sean Towndrow Continue reading →

Turner finishes 4th in Ballykisteen, Europro Tour

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Great National Hotels Irish Masters, Ballykisteen Golf & Country Club, Friday 12th May 2017A cold putter cost Niall Turner today in the final round of the Great National Hotels Irish Masters at Ballykisteen.  The overnight leader bounced back from a double on the first, and despite giving himself plenty of chances on the greens he couldn’t covert the birdies chances.  Turner finished in a tie for fourth place as all of the leaders struggled to match the scoring of the first two rounds.  Despite the missed chances the Muskerry golfer was withing a shot or two of the lead for much of the round, and when a bogey on the 12th brought him back to -9 it looked as if the win was out of reach.  The Asian Tour member rallied with birdies on the 16th and 18th and that brought him back to -11 and he took home just over €2,000 for his week in Tipperary.

Gallery: Great National Hotels Irish Masters Final Round

Waterville’s David Higgins had a great start and was -4 for his opening eight holes which saw him jump Continue reading →

O’Keeffe leads Cork challenge at Irish Amateur Open

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Munster Strokeplay Championship, Munster Golf, Cork Golf Club, Sunday 30th April 2017Peter O’Keeffe shot a one under par 70 on the opening day of the Flogas Irish Amateur Open.  Royal County Down was playing firm and fast today thanks to the recent dry weather and it proved a test for the Irish golfers as only seven made it into the top 25.  O’Keeffe started brightly with a birdie on the first but dropped shots on 4 and 8 meant that he turned on +1.  There were no more bogies for the Douglas member, and he birdied the 10th and 12th before parring his way home.  He’s in a tie for 8th place and three shots off the lead.

Turner leads in Ballykisteen, Great National Hotels Irish Masters R2

Ian O’Rourke is the next best Cork golfer but there’s a gap of over 50 players between him and O’Keeffe.  The Cobh native had been going well, he was two under to the 14th but dropped five shots in the closing holes.  That included a triple on the 15th which saw it’s fair share of bogies, doubles and triples on the opening day.  Kinsale’s John Murphy is one shot back from O’Rourke on +4, his card featured four birdies and nine pars but the four bogies, a double and a triple took the gloss from his debut round at the Irish Amateur.  Cathal Butler (+6) and James Sugrue (+9) will hoping for an improvement tomorrow.

Scoring: Flogas Irish Amateur Open

Play in the second round gets underway at 7.00am when Ian O’Rourke will lead the field of 144 golfers.  Live scoring updates are available from Golfnet.

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Turner leads in Ballykisteen, Great National Hotels Irish Masters R2

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Niall Turner shot a flawless 66 in the second round of the Great National Hotels Irish Masters at Ballykisteen today.  Turner had four birdies on the front nine and added two more at the 11th and 13th.  Surprisingly though the long hitter from Waterfall couldn’t add to his haul on the two closing par fives.  Despite that Turner should be happy, he goes into tomorrow’s final round on -11, with a one shot lead over English duo Jack Harrison and Ben Robinson.

“All parts of my game have been pretty good so far,” said Turner. “If you drive it nicely out here you have a lot of short irons in. I have driven well so far and my wedges have been good so I have given myself a lot of birdie chances.

“This is my first time at Ballykisteen – it is a really enjoyable course to play and it is in great condition. It will probably be similar scoring tomorrow. If you get to 16 or 17 under that would be tough to beat but there is a very low one out there so you are going to need to keep making birdies.”

David Higgins also had six birdies but the Waterville man had two bogies and signed for a 68.  He’s tied for 16th place, five behind the leader on -6.  Monkstown’s Cian McNamara dropped back after is one under a 71.  Despite five birdies in six holes on his front nine, he dropped for shots.  Although he’s safely inside the cut mark, he’s seven off the lead and will be hoping for a good day tomorrow to earn a decent cheque.

Turner 3rd in Ballykisteen, McNamara T16, Europro Tour Round 1

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Niall Turner

Niall Turner

Niall Turner carded a five under par round to lies in 3rd place on the opening day of the Great National Hotels Irish Masters at Ballykisteen Golf & Country Club.  The Europro Tour event saw over 150 professionals tee it up today for Munster’s first Europro event in several years.  Turner started on the back nine and reeled off four birdies in a row from the 15th to 18th to turn on -2.  He added another four birdies in six holes on the front nine and one dropped shot on the par three 6th hole saw him sign for a 67.  Turner is two shots off the lead which is held by England’s James Ruth.

Cian McNamara was one of the early starters this morning and he set the tone, birdieing the 1st & 3rd holes.  He added another on the par five 18th and finished on -3 in a big group of 19 players.  Waterville’s David Higgins is one Continue reading →

Butler finishes 2nd in Kilkenny Scratch Cup

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Munster Strokeplay Championship 2016Cathal Butler bounced back from a few disappointing performances to take second place in the Kilkenny Scratch Cup last weekend.  The Kinsale and Munster golfer travelled to Peru a few weeks ago for a 72 hole strokeplay event and despite enjoying the experience, he didn’t feature in the top 10.  Two weeks ago he missed the cut in the Munster Strokeplay in testing conditions at Cork Golf Club.  He was back in form in Kilkenny however and with rounds of 74/71 he took the runner up spot on the countback, just one behind the winner Graham Nugent.  ‘I was really disappointed after missing the cut in Cork for the Munster Strokeplay” said Butler reflecting on the past few weeks

“Kilkenny played firm and fast just like Cork did and that certainly helped.  I was delighted to bounce back from the disappointment with some nice golf and a really good strategy which was crucial for dealing with the firm conditions.”  With a good performance behind him Cathal is now heading to Royal County Down for the Flogas Irish Amateur Open.  “I’m really looking forward to playing one of the best courses in the world this week, from what I have heard it’s very bouncy in Royal County Down so I think that if I can get my strategy right and maintain the level of golf I played in Kilkenny, I will have a good chance of finishing high up the leaderboard.”

The event will see John Murphy make his debut, and Peter O’Keeffe make his first appearance in 10 years.  The only other Cork golfers to get on the starting list are James Sugrue and Ian O’Rourke.  Play gets underway on Thursday with all five Cork golfers hoping to make an impression.

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