China based golfer Brian O’Donovan made a huge breakthrough yesterday when he won a tour card for the PGA China Tour. Brian was competing in the second qualifying tournament in the PGA backed China tour at the Mission Hills Haikou course. The former Bandon amateur opened on Friday with a 68 for a share of third place, and a solid second round saw him remain in the top five. However a one over par 73 on Saturday saw him drop to 16th, one place outside the qualifying places. After a shaky start on Sunday morning, he steadied and was one over par for his front nine. After hovering around the qualifying mark he birdied the final hole to move to two under par overall and safely inside the top 15. Now armed with a full tour card, Brian will qualify for the series of fourteen events, all based in China with the top five on the tour qualifying for the Web.com tour. There’s a run of six events starting in May with the second half kinking off in late August after a six-week break. The Bandon native was a member of the very successful team from Bandon Golf Club who won the Irish Senior Cup national title in 2010. It was a family affair for the O’Donovan’s, Brian’s Dad Donal was also on that team in Castlebar when they won the most prized team competition in Ireland.
After winning the top team event, Brian decided to pursue a full time career in golf, and enrolled in the PGA programme. Two years of study followed and Brian was based in Douglas Golf Club under Stephen Hayes while studying for his PGA qualification. Brian moved to China soon after qualifying as a PGA Professional in late 2013. While he hoped to remain competitive on the local professional tours, a knees problem ruled him out of competitive action for the best part of a year. He returned to competitive action via the qualifiers for the PGA China Tour events, while also continuing work develop as a teacher in the Mission Hills Golf Academy.
Kentucky based John Murphy is ready for competitive action later this month as the talented Kinsale golfer prepares to restart his season. The Irish Mens squad member is in his first year in the University of Louisville golf programme and despite an enforced lay-off due to knee surgery he’s really enjoyed the first semester in the US. After moving over to Kentucky in August, it was a slow start for Murphy that ultimately meant minor surgery on a recurrent knee problem. That side-lined John from competitive action but he worked on his rehab plan and will be in contention for a place when the first competition of new year in just a few weeks. The end of the rehab coincided with a return home for a few weeks to catch up with family and friends. “I came back to Ireland on the 14th of December and I was very excited to come back” said Murphy. Christmas didn’t disappoint, I had plenty time to hang out with my friends and family because I would consider myself very 
For most golfers in Cork, Jerry Keohane is the driving force behind Lee Valley. But Jerry says he owes a lot to the original course designer. “There was one man who inspired me to and I learned a huge amount from him in two and a half years. He was the most amazing man I ever met, Christy O’Connor Jnr.” In a time before google maps or 3D modelling, Christy was a traditionalist, walking the land to judge the layout as Jerry explained: “He just had a simple drawing, a layout of the course and nothing else. He walked each fairway when he came down every week, sometimes twice a week. I’d be watching him and you’d ask yourself what’s he’s doing. He had some paint and he’d go around and mark out the greens and the bunkers and I was amazed by the man. He had no drawings or detailed plans, his 
It may be an old saying but it still holds true – drive for show, putt for dough and Wayne O’Callaghan is hoping to build on that with a brand new putting analysis system. Wayne, who is based at the Cork Golf Centre in Ballincollig, is one of only two PGA Professionals in Ireland to use the Capto Putting Technology system. Using a small sensor on the shaft of your putter, the system can instantly capture twenty key parameters of the putting stroke. Wayne along with Killarney based David Keating travelled to Spain in December to pick up their new systems, which offer a whole new level of detail when it comes to analysing putting. While there are several options for measuring the swing of irons and drivers, and there are several putting systems that capture the reaction of the ball once it’s hit, this is one of the first systems to focus on the swing and the actions of the golfer. The system operates by putting a small 3D sensor onto the shaft of the putter and using a computer or phone 
Sara Byrne might only be 16, but in the past two years she blazed a trail on the golf courses of Cork and further afield. The Douglas member has represented Munster, Ireland and GB&I in 2017, and more importantly she has seen her golf game improve on several levels. While Sara has been used to winning, and she has ben part of the IGU coaching programmes for a few years, 2017 was a breakthrough year and she’s planning to build on that through the winter and into next season. “I have some great memories this year including winning the Munster girls championship, getting my first cap for Ireland, becoming an honorary member of Douglas Golf Club and shooting the course record of five under 67 in Douglas” said Sara. “But my best memory was seeing the Irish tricolour being raised and the Irish anthem being played when I was playing for Great Britain and Ireland at the Vagliano Trophy in Italy.” Those experiences and performances didn’t happen by accident, they were a result of a very strong work ethic and a focus on constant improvement. And the young Douglas golfer saw the results on the course. “I think my ball striking this year has 
