Walker Cup hopeful James Sugrue is back on the winning trail after romping home in the Castletroy Scratch on Saturday. The Mallow man was named on the Walker Cup training panel earlier this month and his golf continues to do the talking as he finished five strokes clear of a strong field at the end of the 36 hole event. Rounds of 68 ad 71 (-5) saw him clear the field, and with just one bogey in each of the rounds he played some very tidy golf. Second place went to Pat Murray on level par with Harry Duggan (Kilkenny) finishing in third place on +1. Jack Ryan was the best of the home golfers, he took fourth, and it was a special day for Athenry’s Peader O’Beirne. Peader too second nett but also had a hole in one in the competition. It was a welcome win for Sugrue who was laid low with an injury just six weeks ago. The Irish International has been playing well all season. A top 15 finish in Lytham, and a top 20 in the Irish Amateur came after Sugrue had to pull out of the Euro Nations with a rib injury. His performance at the weekend now sends a signal that he’s a contender for a second major to the South title he won in 2017. Sugrue is headed for Leeds this week for the Brabazon Trophy, where the Walker Cup selectors will no doubt be watching the members of their extended training panel.
Cork Golf
Howard runner up in Irish Club Professional at Dromoland
Jack Howard finished runner-up in the Irish Club Professional Tournament in Dromoland last week, losing out to Damien McGrane after a play-off. Howard, representing Fota Island shot a four under par 68 to lead the tournament. That included important birdies on the 17th and 18th to get into a tie for the lead. It was in impressive round from Howard in a strong field, and it included seven birdies. At the end of the round the two leaders were tied on -4, and unlike other PGA events it was on the a play-off. After halving the first play-off hole, McGrane put the pressure on by hitting the green on the short par four 10th. When Howard missed his 12 foot birdie attempt the former European Tour winner tapped in or birdie to claim the title.
Davey Barry and Shane Irwin were the next bet placed Cork golfers, they both carded one par rounds of 73 to get a top ten place, while Cian McNamara and David Ryan were three back in a share for 24th place.
While Jack will be disappointed at missing out on the win, there are several positives. As well as the prize money for second place, the high placed finish means that the 22 year old will now be able to enter several of the high profile events as the Irish Continue reading
Fred Perry Trophy Results & R3 Fixtures
Round 1 Results
Douglas bt Cobh 3.5/1.5
Raffeen Creek bt Mahon 3/2
East Cork bt Fermoy 4/1
Skibbereen bt Glengarriff 3.5/1.5
Blarney w/o Clonakilty (w/d)
Muskerry bt Mallow 4/1
Round 2 Results
Douglas w/o Castlemartyr (w/d)
Raffeen Creek w/o Cork (w/d)
Monkstown bt Lee Valley 4/1
East Cork bt Fota Island 3/2
Skibbereen bt Kinsale 3/2
Dunmore bt Blarney 4/1
Bandon bt Bantry Bay 3/2
Macroom bt Muskerry 3.5/1.5
Round 3 Fixtures:
East Cork -v- Bandon
Raffeen Creek -v- Douglas
Dunmore -v- Skibbereen
onkstown -v- Macroom
Muskerry Cork Fourball
The second Cork Fourball Championship event takes place in Muskerry on Wednesday and interest is building following the successful first event earlier this month. The series runs over six qualifying dates with the top three pairs from each qualifier advance to the series final which takes place at the end of September. From that event, the lucky winners will head off on a golf trip to Portugal. The winners of the first qualifier were Paul O’Keeffe and Brian O’Keeffe from the home club. They scored 45 points to win in a competitive field. The other two pairs to qualify were Derek Kelly (Lismore) & Martin O’Driscoll (West Waterford) and Owen Barrett and Tony Hayes (Muskerry). Ryan’s Marketing Manager Jerry Manley was Continue reading
Douglas win for Greg
It’s a competition that tends to throw up a few first-time winners, and today the Douglas Scratch Cup did exactly that. Greg O’Mahony from Fota Island took the honours, shooting impressive rounds of 68 & 75 to with the Kieran Canty Financial Services Douglas Senior Scratch Cup. O’Mahony’s opened with a four under par 68. After a steady opening nine, the Fota man came back in five under, including and eagle-birdie finish, to take the 18 hole lead. That was one ahead of Peter O’Keeffe and two ahead of Shane Galvin. Crucially there were 11 players within four shots of O’Mahony, and it’s rare enough in Douglas for the leader at halfway Continue reading
Gallery: Douglas Senior Scratch Cup, sponsored by Kieran Canty Financial Services
Pictures from Douglas: Continue reading
Mahon & Bandon survive Bruen Battle
Mahon and Bandon were the two big winners over the weekend as they came through the first serious weekend of cups and shields action. Monkstown and Blarney were the host venues for the AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield qualifiers, with fine weather and great conditions adding to the spectacle of matchplay golf. All Ireland winners Kinsale were not in the shake up this time, they lost out to Skibbereen in a first round match the previous weekend. Mahon had also come through a preliminary match the previous week, they had a comprehensive win over Mallow in the first round to set up a meeting with Douglas on Saturday morning. Similar to their previous form, Mahon had a good win over Douglas but they faced a stiff challenge again Cork in the third round and two matches would need additional holes for Mahon to advance. Tim O’Mahoney needed to chip out of the water on 18 in order for himself and Gavin Carroll to half the hole. They went on to win on the Continue reading
Murphy helps Cardinals to NCAA Finals
John Murphy in action at the NCAA Regionals today (Pic: @UofLMGolf/Twitter)
“That was a grind” – that was the first reaction from a smiling John Murphy after finishing his final round at the NCAA Regionals in Louisville. But it was a very positive finish as two birdies on 16 and 17, and a long par putt on 18 from Murphy proved to be crucial as his University of Louisville side qualified for the NCAA National Championships earlier this evening. Murphy finished the 54 hole tournament tied for 12th place on -2, and his finish ensured that the Cardinals finished in the top five and now go though to the final stage of the college season. Overnight the Cardinals were in fifth place, with a six shot cushion over their nearest challenger. At the turn though it was a different story with the Louisville holding the last qualifying spot by just one shot. Murphy was level par for his first nine but dropped three shots in the next five holes. At that stage it was getting tight, but the third year student was two under for his final four holes which helped the Cardinals go through to the nationals for just the fourth time in their history. In the end they took fourth place as other teams dropped shots on the closing holes.
The Cardinals were playing on their home Continue reading
First Ace for 84 year old Roger
Congratulations go to Lee Valley member Roger McSweeeny who had his first hole in one recently. Roger was in Killarney with the Munster Seniors and aced the first hole in Mahony’s Point. Roger is 84 and has been playing golf for over 60 years, having first picked up a set of clubs in 1958. In spite of his age, Roger is a still a regular in Lee Valley, teeing it up most Saturday mornings in the weekly members competitions. Killarney presented him with a special certificate to mark the occasion.
Joe on top in Cork, Munster Strokeplay Championship 2019
He calls it a love hate relationship, but Joe Lyons is probably more in love with Cork Golf Club after the winning the Munster Strokeplay Championship at the Little Island course over the weekend. After leading through the first, second and third rounds, Joe was brought to a playoff where he beat Eanna Griffin on the second sudden death hole. “I honestly didn’t think I’d be coming down here to win this weekend so it’s an absolute thrill to win” said Joe after claiming the trophy. “I’ve had a bit of a love hate relationship with this this course. I’ve had nines and tens and all sorts of things down through the years when I had chances of winning this event. Even leading the qualifiers in the Irish Close a few years back I had a ten on the 16th. I wasn’t expecting a whole pile so I’m delighted with the win.” After playing the first three rounds in five under with just six bogies, his closing Continue reading
Cork Golf News 