Draw as of 24/04/2014, waiting list in operation
Cork Golf
Senior Scratch Cup Order of Merit
Updated after 3 events:
McNamara wins at Lee Valley
McNamara wins at Lee Valley
By Niall O’Shea
Headfort’s Rory McNamara won the Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup over the weekend, and added his name to a prestigious list of past winners. Reigning champion Gary O’Flaherty was in the running right up to the end. He held the joint lead with McNamara as they both finished on -2 after Saturday’s 36 holes. Continue reading
Monkstown and Charleville win new Competition
Monkstown and Charleville win new Competition
By Niall O’Shea
A brand new annual competition was started in Lee Valley last Friday as the first staging of the Captains Cup and Presidents Cup took place. 2013 Lee Valley President Patsy Ryan was the man behind the concept has he worked for some months to develop the concept. Each competition see’s the Captain team up with the Captain’s prize winner in a fourball competition with the winners claiming the Captains Cup. The same happens for the club President and his winner playing for the Presidents Cup. Continue reading
O’Callaghan wins in Monkstown
Wayne O’Callaghan continued his great record in Monkstown Golf Club on Monday when he won the Morgan O’Donovan Trophy. The event was the final competition of the Munster PGA winter series and it was the second time that PGA members played to remember their colleague. In 2013, Peter O’Keeffe and Damien McGrane tied to take the title and O’Callaghan was extremely happy to add his name to the commemorative trophy; “this trophy meant a lot as I was great friends with Morgan since we both played boys golf together. I would put it up with my win at the Irish Assistants championship 1997”. The busy teaching professional who runs his Academy from Fernhill Golf Club has four Monkstown Pro-Am titles to his name. However in spite of his great record he must have been worried as he carded a 7 on the par 4 final hole. O’Callaghan had done enough though, four birdies and a bogey on the front nine saw him take a lead and he added another birdie on the 15th before finding trouble on the 18th. It was still good enough to Continue reading
Sugrue Set for Success in 2014
Sugrue Set for Success in 2014
By Niall O’Shea
Mallow’s James Sugure has been selected to travel to France next week with the Irish Boys for a number of matches with France. Sugrue along with Mahon’s Paul Tobin are among a team of eight golfers who will compete over four days in Nice as part of their build up for a busy season. Continue reading
Ryan Wins on the Double
David Ryan took the honours in Fota on Monday as the Munster PGA Professionals battled tough conditions. Almost 30 golfers took to the course and while the weather was cold and wet, Fota was in great condition given the recent winds and rain. Ryan was the only golfer to finish under par as he recorded a 69. This was Ryan’s second win in a row as he also took the honours when they played in Dungarvan two weeks ago. John McHenry was fresh from his Seniors qualifying round in Portugal as he finished tied for second place with a 74, Castlemartyr’s Brady Sherwood also finishing on the same score. Sherwood was not doubt trying to emulate his compatriot Jason Day’s feats in Arizona but came up a few shots short. Padraig Dooley was fourth with a 75, and Killarney’s Danny Sugrue secured a top six spot with a 77. Sugrue maintains his position at the top of the order of merit. Monkstown’s cian McNamara is in second place and David Ryan is a close third. The PGA Winter League continues and will conclude in late March with Monkstown hosting the Morgan O’Donovan trophy.
The GUI annual delegates meeting took place recently and two Munster motions were carried. Castletroy’s motion limiting “point one” increases to only those golfers who complete a round was passed at national level and will now be put forward to CONGU. Limerick Golf Club’s proposal to limit the maximum number of point one increments to 20 in a single year was also passed. Both motions will now go on to CONGU where the GUI will propose the changes. At the provincial ADM’s the hope was that both changes would be effective from 2015, however time will tell as the current CONGU rules fare due to run until the end of 2015.
The most contentious motion at the provincial meetings was Leinster’s motion to require golfer to have three home qualifying scores to compete in away competitions. There was a perceived issue that many golfers were using away handicaps without ever playing at their home course. The motion was passed by a narrow majority at the Munster meeting and the GUI must now decide on how this rule will be implemented by clubs. The golfing season will finally start this weekend after two months of inclement weather. The first round of the south east league takes place this weekend with ten teams taking part in the annual Bruen and Purcell warm up compeititon.
Busy Year for Castlemartyr
Castlemartyr golf course didn’t take long to register itself as one of the most popular courses for green fees and societies and the past few years has seen the club also go from strength to strength. The club and course are now open almost seven years and the club has seen a large increase in membership over the past two years. A large number of members attended the recent AGM where John Paul Twomey was elected Captain. The Kerryman who hails from Duagh in the north of the county has been a popular and hardworking member of the club and takes over the reins from 2013 Captain Gary Quail. Speaking after the AGM, Twomey is looking forward to the golfing season; “I am looking forward to a busy and exiting year ahead representing the club in 2014. We have been very active in securing new sponsors and we have a number of key open competitions planned. We have two Open weekends this year on the May Bank Holiday weekend sponsored by Mahers Golf from 2nd – 4th. The L’Oreal Open weekend is on the 27th June to the 29th. Our Junior, Inter and Minor Scratch Cups sponsored by McCarthy Insurance Group are taking place on the August Bank Holiday Weekend. The Oakley Senior Scratch Cup is scheduled for the 21st September.”
Like most progressive clubs, Castlemartyr has a keen focus on junior golf and this was one of the key areas covered by the Captain at the AGM, “We now have over 30 junior members and we passed a motion at the AGM which will allow junior golfer with a handicap of 16 or lower to compete in men’s competitions. Our Director of Golf Brady Sherwood and his assistant Alan Gleeson have plans in place for coaching of juveniles for 2014. We also have a team in the Fred Daly for the first time along with team competing in the Purcell, Bruen, Junior Cup, Senior Cup and Barton Shield.”
The course too is sure to be a busy place and Director of Golf Brady Sherwood celebrated his own heritage by holding an Australian Day open competition on Sunday. While the weather on Sunday was far from the regular Australian elements, a large number of teams took part. The winners were Ger Donnelly, Pat Crotty, Brian Murphy and Like Swayne. They finished with 104 points, six shots clear of second place. The runners up spot went to Con Murphy, Joey O’Brien, Bill Summers and Shane O’Dwyer. The weekly open competitions continue to take place with the Tuesday Blues and Wednesday Whites proving popular every week. Details and timesheets are available from the club.
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