Pictures from Lee Valley this evening: Continue reading
Cork Golf
RNLI Baltimore Fundraising Classic
RNLI Baltimore Branch will hold its annual fundraising Golf Classic on Saturday 22nd July 2017 at Skibbereen Golf Club. The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea, and in the past 12 months Baltimore’s two lifeboats had a total of 33 callouts and its crew of skilled and dedicated local volunteers continues to save lives around our coastline.
The golf competition will be a 3-Ball Better Ball, and teams can be ladies/men/mixed. A donation of €150 per team, including lunch. will be appreciated, and tees may also be sponsored at €100 each.
To book a tee time phone Skibbereen Golf Club (028)2127 or book online at www.skibbgolf.com
Murphy & Sugrue best placed in East of Ireland

John Murphy, Credit: Tristan Jones
John Murphy and James Sugrue were the best placed Cork finishers in the East of Ireland which concluded on Monday. Murphy ended up claiming a spot in the top ten, finishing in a tie for 6th place on +2. Murphy birdied the last to sign for a 73 and continues a good run of form. Like many other Cork and Munster golfers he’ll now head for Tralee for the Kerry Scratch Cup which takes place this weekend. With more Munster Order of Merit points on offer the competition for places on the Munster interprovincial team is heating up. Janes Sugrue closed with a two over par 74 today but signed for a very impressive 69 yesterday. The Mallow man tied the low round of the day with five birdies and two bogies which saw him jump up on the field. The winner was Reece Black from Hilton Templepatrick who blew the Continue reading
Fota date for Irish Kids Golf Tour
A new kids golf event is coming to Cork, the Munster event on the Irish Kids golf tour takes place in Fota Island in August. There are four provincial events planned for this year with Mount Juliet hosting the first event in early July. There’s also an “All-Ireland”
Organiser Gordon Smyth “It’s to help develop and fill a key niche in junior golf in Ireland, the ‘Irish Kids Golf Tour’ provides an elite setting for junior golfers to compete safely & enjoyably in a professionally run Tour on Ireland’s best courses. Established in 2017 to serve competitive junior golfers and their families, the ‘Irish Kids Golf Tour’ offers professionally-conducted competitions, helps develop players on and off the golf course and prepares them for competitive golf and life beyond childhood.”
While the Mount Juliet event is fully booked there are space available for the Fota Island date. Irish Kids Golf Tour events are open to both boys and girls aged 13 and Continue reading
Hickey & O’Flaherty lead Cork charge at East of Ireland

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

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
Gary 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

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

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
Gallery: East Cork v Bandon, AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield area final, Douglas Golf Club
Pictures from Douglas Golf Club this evening: Continue reading