Enter a Robert Walsh JNR (Kinsale) winner of the Connacht Boys Amateur Championship 2019. Picture: Golffile | Fran Caffrey
Robbie Walsh claimed his first provincial title today when he overturned a three shot deficit to win the Connacht Boys in Oughterard. It was a long three days for the Kinsale golfer, he was in contention from the start and held a share of the lead with Galgorm Castle’s Joshua Hill after an opening 68. He fell back to second place after round two though when he shot a level par 72 and Hill shot a 69. With a three shot lead, Hill was favourite to win the title, and after the opening nine it still looked like that. The Kinsale teenager was still three behind at the turn but two mistakes from Hill and a birdie from Walsh on the par five 14th saw the pair tied for the lead on the 16th tee. Hill went one ahead with a birdie on the 16th, but he closed with two bogies that would put him into second place. Walsh’s birdie on the par three 17th was crucial, it gave him a one shot lead heading to the 18th tee. Although both golfers bogied the last, Walsh knew he had a cushion and claimed his first provincial title.
Muskerry’s Fionn Hickey carded a final round 69 (-2) to move up to 4th place, that’s another good result after he won the Under 17 trophy at the Irish Boys last week. Jack Egan (Muskerry) and Keelan McCarthy (Lee Valley) both finished inside the top twenty, and Ronan Feerick (Mallow) dropped Continue reading
Robbie Walsh leads the Connacht Boys after an impressive round where he shot a 68. The Kinsale teenager had five birdies on his way the the four under par round in Oughterard. A bogey on the final hole spoiled an otherwise flawless round, and he ties the overnight lead with Joshua Hill. Keelan McCarthy (Lee Valley) and Shane Connor (East Cork) are the next best Cork players, they shot level par and are tied for 13th place. Muskerry duo Fionn Hickey (+2) and Jack Egan (+3) are both inside the top thirty, along with Mallow’s Ronan Feerick. Round two in Oughterard takes place tomorrow with the top 45 qualifying for the final round.
Pat Lyons shot an opening one 
Lee Valley’s Mel Deasy has been selected to represent the GUI at the McGregor Trophy later this month. Deasy, who is a member of the Irish Boys U16 panel, is one of six players selected to represent the GUI. Deasy had a great start to the season, winning the West of Ireland qualifier, and making the cut in the event. He’ll be looking forward to the next few weeks with several boys competitions taking place, in addition to the McGregor. The McGregor Trophy, which is contested for the English U16 Stroke Play Championship, is a 72-hole tournament. After two rounds, the top 40 and ties will progress to play the final 36 holes. Among the previous winners is England’s Justin 
Sean Reddy is one of Cork’s emerging young golfers who continues to work on his game and improve, and the 2018 season was an important one for the 11 year golf nut. Having started playing golf many years ago, Sean joined Douglas Golf Club at the start of the season and quickly became a regular on the course. The young golfer rounded off his season when he got his hands on some important silverware last month, he won the Minor Matchplay Cup in Douglas in September. Any the way he won was pretty impressive. Playing in a matchplay competition, he won the 18th with a birdie to force the match onto the 19th hole. And on the testing par four he won the match with a par. Sean was a busy boy all Summer, playing competitions and practicing. Like most young golfers, the summer holidays meant more time on the course and he put himself to good use picking up the club almost every day. “All summer I played most days in Douglas and then other days I practiced in the Academy in Fota Island” said Sean, “I was usually playing or practicing everyday. I got to play Hollywood in Belfast, Rory Milroy’s home course, it was incredible to play there. My favourite also was the K Club, last time I was there on a Sunday was to watch Rory win the Irish Open in 2016.” Unlike many other golfers of his age, Sean doesn’t just practice for fun, he does it to improve. And he spent the summer working on a few important areas. I worked on my swing path and alignment mostly, trying to keep my swing consistent on every shot” explained Reddy, “I know my swing speed and distance will come as I get older, I am not 12 until next year and I want my swing to be perfect now so when I am older it hopefully will be always be consistent as I swing faster. I worked on many speed and strength drills with Peter for most of the summer.” Now playing off an official GUI handicap, Sean has seen this tumble as he played in Douglas over the Summer. He dropped ten shots and he’s now playing off 14 – a very impressive mark for an eleven year old. “In February had a handicap of 24” explained Sean, “I am now down to 14 since 
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