Author: niall@corkgolfnews.com

Hickey & O’Flaherty lead Cork charge at East of Ireland

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John Hickey pictured during the Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup.

John Hickey

John Hickey shot a two under par 70 in Baltray this morning to finish the first round in 5th place.  A steady round saw Hickey turn on -2 after two birdies.  He added a third bridie on the 14th but bogied the par three 15th immediately after that.  Two more pars followed and he signed for a 70 which is just one shot off the lead set but a group of four golfers.  Gary O’Flaherty returned to competitive golf after a short break and he went round the Co Louth links in a very respectable 71 strokes.  Like his Cork Golf Club partner Hickey, Gary also had a very tidy round.  Two birdies, one bogey and fifteen pars made up the card that saw him tie for ninth place just two shots away from the leading bunch.  The fourway tie Continue reading →

O’Keeffe out of the East, strong Cork challenge remains

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John Murphy of Ireland during a practice round

Murphy pictured during the Alps Tour event in Clement Ader last week. Pic: Tristan Jones

Peter O’Keeffe was a late withdrawal this afternoon from the East of Ireland Championship which gets underway in Co Louth Golf Club tomorrow.  O’Keeffe was one the highest ranked qualifiers but a neck injury has prevented him from taking part.  He struggled with the problem last week during the Douglas Senior Scratch Cup and with no improvement he made the tough call to withdraw late this afternoon.  Although the Irish Open champion is missing, there’s still a strong challenge from Cork.

Munster Students Champion John Murphy (Kinsale) returned from France earlier this week and he’ll be confident from a run of recent good form while fellow Kinsale member Cathal Butler will be looking to return to the form he displayed at the Munster Students in March.  Both Sean Desmond (Monkstown) and Gary Ward Continue reading →

Ward Wins in Cobh, Cobh Senior & Junior Scratch Cups

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Munster Strokeplay Championship 2016Gary Ward shot a very impressive 66 in Cobh today to win the Senior Scratch Cup.  The score is a course record at the championship course.  Ward had a good start and birdied the 3rd & 4th before he went on to add two more birdies on the 7th & 8th holes.  He added another birdie on the par three 10th to get to five under.  His only blemish came on the 12th when he dropped a shot after putting a ball in the water.  Ward regained the shot on the very next hole and moved to six under when he bogied the last hole.

It was a 1-2 for Kinsale as Keith Fitzpatrick took second place with a 71.  Cobh’s Gavin Lynch won the nett prize.  Mark McGroarty won the Junior Scratch Cup in style with a level par 72 enough to win the title by two shots.  Monkstown’s Ken Treacy was second on 74 and Eoin Wilson was third with a 75.  Aaron Ward (Blarney) won the nett prize with a 69, beating Jack Ryan (Monkstown) on the countback.

Desmond claims first Scratch Cup win in Douglas

Cobh’s next big event is the AIG Junior Continue reading →

Desmond claims first Scratch Cup win in Douglas

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Sean Desmond Douglas SSC 2017

Sean Desmond (Monkstown) receives the Douglas Senior Scratch Cup from sponsor Kieran Canty, Kieran Canty Financial Services.

Monkstown’s Sean Desmond made a successful return from injury today when he won the Douglas Senior Scratch Cup.  Desmond suffered ankle ligament damage earlier this month and that kept him off the course for three weeks.  Douglas was his first competitive outing and this morning he shot a solid level par 72.  The first year UCC student was two shots off the lead after the first round when his Senior Cup partner Eoghan Long led the field with a 70.  It was a packed leaderboard with over 20 golfers within four shots of the lead. Desmond started fast the second round and he was three under through 10 holes.  He gave two shots back thought on the 12th and the 16th.  A birdie on the 17th however proved to be the difference and he went on to win by one shot.

“It’s my first scratch cup win and absolutely delighted to get one, especially in a big competition like Douglas” said a happy Desmond who was equally happy with the way he played.  “I played very solidly.  I hit the ball well in general, and hit a lot of greens. I put myself in the right spots most of the time except for a few holes where I made some very sloppy bogeys.  But overall I  Continue reading →

Murphy happy with Clement Ader Experience

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John Murphy of Ireland during the final round

John Murphy during the final round. Alps Tour 2017: Open Golf Clement Ader Paris.  Credit: Tristan Jones

Kinsale’s John Murphy is heading back to Ireland tomorrow after two exciting events in France.  Just over a week ago he was playing in the French Amateur Open and although he dropped a few shot on the final day, that was still good enough to finish in a tie for 20th place.  Murphy had been as high as fifth in the competition before the final round.

After the French Open in Chantilly it was on to Thomas O’Driscoll’s Clement Ader Golf for his first professional competition on the Alps Tour. John was one of several Irish amateurs who were invited to play in the tournament by O’Driscoll.  Murphy was in the top ten after the first round and was the only Irish golfer to make the 36 hole cut.  Murphy added a second 76 in his final round and finished in 33rd place.  Murphy was three under through the first three holes on the final round, but a double on the fourth killed the momentum.  His four over par round saw him drop a few places in the final standings but the US Continue reading →

East Cork win thriller in Douglas, AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield

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AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield, Douglas Golf Club, Thursday 25th May 201720 minutes can be a long time in golf, and that happened this evening as East Cork turned the tide to snatch a 3-2 win over Bandon in the AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield area final.  Douglas was the venue for the South Munster final and a crowd exceeding 300 followed to five matches as they wandered through the course on a wonderful evening for golf.  Bandon laid claim to the first two matches and put themselves in a strong position.  Michael O’Dell and Ger Cummins won on the 17th while David Long and Charlie Long won 4&3.  It looked like the third match would be the decider, East Cork’s Barry O’Brien and Tom Lynch were Continue reading →

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.