Cork Golf

Turner leads in Ballykisteen, Great National Hotels Irish Masters R2

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Niall Turner shot a flawless 66 in the second round of the Great National Hotels Irish Masters at Ballykisteen today.  Turner had four birdies on the front nine and added two more at the 11th and 13th.  Surprisingly though the long hitter from Waterfall couldn’t add to his haul on the two closing par fives.  Despite that Turner should be happy, he goes into tomorrow’s final round on -11, with a one shot lead over English duo Jack Harrison and Ben Robinson.

“All parts of my game have been pretty good so far,” said Turner. “If you drive it nicely out here you have a lot of short irons in. I have driven well so far and my wedges have been good so I have given myself a lot of birdie chances.

“This is my first time at Ballykisteen – it is a really enjoyable course to play and it is in great condition. It will probably be similar scoring tomorrow. If you get to 16 or 17 under that would be tough to beat but there is a very low one out there so you are going to need to keep making birdies.”

David Higgins also had six birdies but the Waterville man had two bogies and signed for a 68.  He’s tied for 16th place, five behind the leader on -6.  Monkstown’s Cian McNamara dropped back after is one under a 71.  Despite five birdies in six holes on his front nine, he dropped for shots.  Although he’s safely inside the cut mark, he’s seven off the lead and will be hoping for a good day tomorrow to earn a decent cheque.

Turner 3rd in Ballykisteen, McNamara T16, Europro Tour Round 1

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Niall Turner

Niall Turner

Niall Turner carded a five under par round to lies in 3rd place on the opening day of the Great National Hotels Irish Masters at Ballykisteen Golf & Country Club.  The Europro Tour event saw over 150 professionals tee it up today for Munster’s first Europro event in several years.  Turner started on the back nine and reeled off four birdies in a row from the 15th to 18th to turn on -2.  He added another four birdies in six holes on the front nine and one dropped shot on the par three 6th hole saw him sign for a 67.  Turner is two shots off the lead which is held by England’s James Ruth.

Cian McNamara was one of the early starters this morning and he set the tone, birdieing the 1st & 3rd holes.  He added another on the par five 18th and finished on -3 in a big group of 19 players.  Waterville’s David Higgins is one Continue reading →

Butler finishes 2nd in Kilkenny Scratch Cup

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Munster Strokeplay Championship 2016Cathal Butler bounced back from a few disappointing performances to take second place in the Kilkenny Scratch Cup last weekend.  The Kinsale and Munster golfer travelled to Peru a few weeks ago for a 72 hole strokeplay event and despite enjoying the experience, he didn’t feature in the top 10.  Two weeks ago he missed the cut in the Munster Strokeplay in testing conditions at Cork Golf Club.  He was back in form in Kilkenny however and with rounds of 74/71 he took the runner up spot on the countback, just one behind the winner Graham Nugent.  ‘I was really disappointed after missing the cut in Cork for the Munster Strokeplay” said Butler reflecting on the past few weeks

“Kilkenny played firm and fast just like Cork did and that certainly helped.  I was delighted to bounce back from the disappointment with some nice golf and a really good strategy which was crucial for dealing with the firm conditions.”  With a good performance behind him Cathal is now heading to Royal County Down for the Flogas Irish Amateur Open.  “I’m really looking forward to playing one of the best courses in the world this week, from what I have heard it’s very bouncy in Royal County Down so I think that if I can get my strategy right and maintain the level of golf I played in Kilkenny, I will have a good chance of finishing high up the leaderboard.”

The event will see John Murphy make his debut, and Peter O’Keeffe make his first appearance in 10 years.  The only other Cork golfers to get on the starting list are James Sugrue and Ian O’Rourke.  Play gets underway on Thursday with all five Cork golfers hoping to make an impression.

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Byrne takes 3rd at Fairhaven

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Sara Byrne Fairhaven 2017Sara Byrne continued her good form as she finished in third place at the Fairhaven Trophy this weekend.  The Douglas golfer was in Lancashire along with a large number of Irish golfers competing in the Lytham and Fairhaven trophies.

Byrne posted rounds of 78,77,74 and 76 on the par 75 red course, and while she finished in place in the girls competition, she was 15th overall in the field of 40 top young amateurs from the UK & Ireland.

Just up the road from Fairhaven, John Murphy was in action in Lytham at the Lytham Trophy.  Unfortunately for the Kinsale man, he missed the cut after 36 holes.

Fairhaven Trophy Final Scores

Top Ten for McNamara as Higgins wins, Irish Club Professional Tournament

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David Higgins 2017David Higgins retained his PGA Irish Club Professional title in Dromoland today.  The Waterville man shot a second successive 70 to win by three and ahead of a three way tie for second which included Colm Moriarty, Brian McElhinney and Richard Kilpatrick.  Higgins had a steady round one birdie on the front nine was balanced by a bogey on the back nine as he eased to his first Irish Region win of the new season.

Cian McNamara carded a two under par 70 which tied for the low round of the day.  He was level par for the front nine but an eagle 2 on the par 4 tenth hole got his round going.  He birdied the 15th to get to -3 but a dropped shot on the last hole saw him finish on +5 for the tournament and take a share of 10th place.

Padraig Dooley added a 78 today after shooting a 73 yesterday, he finished two shots behind McNamara in 14th place.  David Ryan was the only other Cork golfer in action in Dromoland, he shot a second round 78 to finish in the middle of the pack in 34th place.

“I was delighted with that today. With it being so windy there was disaster around every corner so I kept it steady and kept the big numbers off my card,” said the 44-year-old.  “It was a great couple of days, fantastic weather and a spectacular setting for the course which was set up tough. It played a bit ‘linksy’ which was right up my alley and considering the course set-up and the high winds I was delighted to shoot level par.”

Higgins was happy to get off the mark today: “I’m delighted to get off to a good start. The standard is getting better each year on the Irish Region and every win is going to be crucial in the order of merit race.  I was my first time to Dromoland, its a cracking venue and definitely worth a visit for any golfer.”  Next up for Higgins is a EuroproTour even in Ballykisteen next week and then it’s on to the Roganstown Golf Hotel Pro-Am in Monday week.

As well as a busy schedule on the Irish Region tour, Higgins also has a place in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, and the links specialist is looking forward to July: “I haven’t played Portstewart yet but I hear it is a great links.  I would love for the wind to blow really strong during the week of the open.  I feel this would play right into my hands and give me my best chance of doing well.”

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Castletroy Senior Scratch Cup Launch

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Castletroy SSC Launch 2017

Liam McDonnell, Captain, Liz Horgan, Bank of Ireland and Corrie Ward, President of Castletroy Golf Club       
Picture by Dave Gaynor

Castletroy Golf Club has announced details of this year’s Senior Scratch Cup, which is, once again kindly sponsored by Bank of Ireland.  The competition takes place on Saturday, May 20th.   First competed for in 1948, the Castletroy trophy is one of the oldest and most prestigious scratch cups in the country and attracts the cream of Munster golf and some of Ireland’s best amateur golfers each year.  As a Munster Senior Golf “Order of Merit” tournament, results in the Castletroy Senior Scratch Cup are included in the selection criteria for the Munster team in the Senior Golf Interprovincial Series.   The course, currently ranked at #61 in Ireland and measuring almost 7,000 yards off the back tees, consistently Continue reading →

The Cork Scratch Cup

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Munster Strokeplay Championship 2016

2016 Winner Cathal Butler

Most people will know that last weekend’s competition was the Munster Strokeplay, but not everyone will know that when the event was given Championship status it had the additional designation of “incorporating the Cork Scratch Cup”.  The Cork Scratch Cup is one of the oldest trophies in Irish golf and according to Cork’s GM Matt Sands, it the original cup that was awarded over 90 years ago.  The cup and base holds the names of the all of the winners.

The trophy was presented by William Dwyer, the same person who started the inter-society competition which still runs today.  Dwyer presented the trophy in 1923 and won it in himself in 1924.  The trophy bears the names of the great Cork Golf Club stalwarts, Crosbie, Simcox, Bruen and Higgins are all represented, with Jimmy Bruen claiming four consecutive titles from 1938-1941.  There was a gap of four years during the war and Redmond Simcox won his fourth title in 1947 when the competition resumed.  Simcox was one of three golfers Continue reading →