A birdie three on the last hole was the perfect finish to Cathal Butler’s round in Co Sligo today, as he signed for a 65 after a great second round. Butler, who had a four over par 75 in his opening round, got to work early today and was three under through five holes. He added another two birdies before the turn to go out in 31 (-5). Although he had a few good birdie chances on the back nine he ended up with eight consecutive pars. He did close out on the 18th with a birdie, leaving him on -2 and tied for 20th at the halfway stage. Needless to say the Kinsale golfer was in a positive frame of mind after his round. “It was a relief as much as anything – it feels like a long time since I shot a low one” said Butler after the round. “I was hitting it lovely, I only missed one green and hit a lot of the shots close. The putter was steady throughout and it was nice to hole a long one on 18 to finish.” Butler has been struggling with a back injury for the past while and that has contributed to his lack of recent appearances near the top of the leaderboard. “I’m off around 2pm tomorrow so I’ll get a chance to go to the gym before hand. My back has been troublesome for the past few weeks so I’ll do some exercises before I go out to play.” As for the strategy for tomorrow, it more of the same for Cathal. “I’ll just keep trying to make good decisions and smooth swings. If I can stay as relaxed as I was today it should be another good day.”
James Sugrue followed his opening 70 (-1) with a two over par 73 today. The Mallow man had a colourful back nine, comprised of two pars, three birdies, three bogies and an unfortunate double on the par five 12th. He’s just inside the top 50, and a good round tomorrow should see him through to Sunday. The 54 hole cut after tomorrow’s third round will see the top 50 (plus ties) go forward for Sunday’s final round. Mel Deasy, back at the venue where he led the qualifier for the West just a few weeks ago has found the going a little tougher. Rounds of 72 & 74 has him Continue reading
Castletroy Golf Club has announced details of this year’s Senior Scratch Cup, which is, once again kindly and generously sponsored by Bank of Ireland. The competition takes place on Saturday, May 25th. 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 Golf OOM tournament, results in the Castletroy Senior Scratch Cup are included in the selection criteria for the Munster Interprovincial team. The course, currently ranked in the top 100 in Ireland and measuring almost 7,000 yards off the back tees, consistently offers a stiff challenge to any player on the senior scratch cup circuit. Last year’s edition was no different with a very impressive fourteen plus handicapped golfers and ten scratch golfers in 
Alan Fahy returns to Cork this weekend to defend his Munster Strokeplay title. Cork Golf Club will play host to the 72 hole event on Saturday and Sunday, and although some of the Irish Team are in Lytham, the field is the deepest ever with the cut falling at +0.4. The marquee three ball tees off at 9.40, it contains the champion Fahy, the 2018 runner up Robbie Cannon and Portmarnock’s Geoff Lenehan. The three have all shown promise this year and will be hoping for a positive start in Cork on Saturday. Keith Egan from Carton House is the lowest handicapped golfer in the field, playing off an impressive mark of +3.0. Gary O’Flaherty, Ian O’Rourke and Ian O’Flynn are the leading contenders from the home club while Kanturk native Paul Buckley has recently joined the club and will be hoping to build on good form from last weekend in Lee Valley.
