Irish Seniors Captain Sean O’Leary pictured with Karl Bornemann after Ireland won the European Senior Team Championship
Douglas’ Karl Bornemann celebrated his Ireland selection by being part of the winning team at the European Senior Team Championships. Karl was one of two new caps selected by Irish Captain Sean O’Leary, and both justified their selection winning matches at crucial points. Bornemann had a great start to the competition in the strokeplay rounds. On the opening day he shot a two under par 70, helped by an eagle on the par four 5th. He calmly holed an uphill wedge from 100 yards to give himself a boost in his first round in an Irish shirt. Karl was heading for an under par finish on day two also, but a bogey on the last meant that he signed for a level par 72, and he finished in a tie for 6th place after 36 holes.
Ireland finished in the joint top position on the team rankings alongside Scotland, and qualified for the top flight matchplay phase. The format for matchlplay stage was one foursomes match and four singles. In the quarter final they faced hosts Sweden and came away with a 3-2 win. Ireland faced England in the semi final and they had a surprisingly easy win, taking three matches very early to secure the win. Karl had the luxury of being called in on Saturday, but in Sunday’s final he led the charge. Ireland were up against outsiders Denmark, they had a surprise win over Scotland in the semi-final. Bornemann was first to finish in the final as he recorded a 5&4 win to Continue reading
Although he’s a Dub, Matt Sands could nearly be considered a Corkman given that he’s spent the best part of 30 years here. Matt is General Manager in Cork Golf Club and moved from Dublin in 1988 to take up the job. Matt isn’t the only person with long service in Cork, in fact it seems to be a feature with course superintendent Anthony Gillis having worked in Cork for over 50 years. Gerry Kenneally who runs the impressive restaurant has been attached to the Little Island club for 28 years while club professional Peter Hickey has been based in Cork for 22 years. Matt has seen plenty happen in that time. From major competitions like the Irish Close and the home internatioals, to the Pro Am and Munster Strokeplay which are annual showpiece events, Cork is generally a busy spot. Apart from the major competitions, there have been a few major projects that Matt has been involved with in the last three decades and he lists the clubhouse redevelopment (2002) and the course upgrade (2011-2012) as the biggest. “I came in during Centenary Year in 1998” said Matt, “and I 
James Sugrue shot the low round of the day today in Bray, as he jumped up to 3rd place in the Irish Students Championship
Tomorrow will be the last day to play Fernhill golf course, as the course is set to close for the last time on 31st August. Owner Michael Bowes has confirmed his intention to close the course at the end of the month, citing an ongoing trading loss as the reason. This follows the winding down of the golf club in Fernhill in 2016. The owner did not offer members the option to renew their membership after December 2018 and since then the course operated under a pay and play basis over the past eight months.
Cork Golf News 