John Murphy (Kinsale) with the 2017 Leinster Students Amateur Open Championship trophy after his victory at Newlands Golf Club today . Picture by Pat Cashman
John Murphy proved his credentials as a clutch player when he nailed a six foot par putt on the 18th green to win the Leinster Students title in Newlands today. Murphy was tied for the overnight lead alongside Cathal Butler and Ben Murray. Butler’s challenge faded after a few early bogies, the Kinsale man was unable to repeat the form that saw him shoot a course record 64 yesterday. Murray however kept pace with Murphy and although he went two behind on the 4th hole, he picked up a few birdies and was one behind at the turn. After Murphy and Murray bogied the 10th, the Waterford man drew level with a birdie on the 12th. Both golfers bogied the 15th and they were still level going onto the 18th tee. Although it was a short par five, the pressure was telling as neither golfer made the green in three. Murphy was left with a six foot Continue reading
Golf fitness is a relatively new discipline and it’s interesting that the newly opened Cork Golf Centre has its very own onsite golf gym. The centre which was formerly a stand-alone driving range reopened in April with a refurbished range and teaching room, shop, treatment room and gym. Francis Courtney is behind the gym side of Cork Golf Centre, and the TPI qualified fitness coach is a keen golfer himself. He started playing golf at just 7 years old, thanks to his Dad who was a greenkeeper in Dunloe. He’s currently a category one golfer playing out of his native Killarney. He’s now working alongside PGA Professionals Stephen Hoey, Wayne O’Callaghan and Liam 
Cathal Butler shot a course record 64 in Newlands today and catapulted himself into a share of the lead going into tomorrow’s final round of the Leinster Students Championship. Butler made the most of the benign conditions on day two, and he eagled the par five 2nd hole to set the tone. He added two more birdies on the front nine to go out in 31 strokes (-4). Three more birdies followed on the back nine and although he failed to birdie the short par five final hole, the Maynooth student did enough to claim a course record.
James Sugrue and John Murphy both recorded rounds of 72 to lie two shots behind the leader after the first round of the Leinster Students Championship today. The dry but windy day in Newlands was a welcome change for both, they had played in Kerry Scratch Cup in Tralee over the weekend and had endured driving wind and rain for much of the 54 holes. Sugrue and Murphy had near identical rounds in the tight parkland layout, four birdies and five bogies added up to a +1 result for the opening round. They are two shots behind leader Ross Dutton (Ulster University). Waterford Duo Ben Murray and Eanna Griffin are tied for second place on level par. Griffin travelled from Athenry where he won the Connacht 
Peter O’Keeffe overcame a one shot deficit in the final nine holes in Tralee today to claim the prestigious Kerry Scratch Cup. O’Keeffe was joint leader going into the final round but Tralee’s Fergal O’Sullivan led by one shot after 45 holes. It was a tough day for the players in Tralee, O’Sullivan was +3 at the turn and O’Keeffe was +4 as high winds and squally rain did its best to wear down the competitors.
Cork’s Tom Cleary heralded the start to his season when he took second place at the Connacht Seniors today. The former Munster and Irish Seniors winner shot a par par 73 today in Claremorris to jump up the leaderboard and take the runner-up spot. Cleary had three birdies on the back nine to get back to level par for the day. He finished one shot behind winner Nigel Duke (Killiney) who retained the title he won last year. Cleary was the only golfer to match par over the two days as the golfers struggled in testing weather conditions.
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. 
