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Senior Scratch Cup
September date for John Whyte Memorial
Fermoy will host the John Whyte memorial on Sunday 10th of September, with a bumper prize fund in place for the senior scratch cup. The 18 hole event which includes a meal will see defending champion James Sugrue return to defend his title. The South of Ireland winner has been in great form this year, and earned a spot on the Munster Senior team for the interprovincials in July. Previous winners include European Seniors star Denis O’Sullivan and Fermoy native Tom Cleary. A full timesheet is expected and anyone interested in playing should book early. Online entry is available on http://www.fermoygolfclub.ie and you can also call the club on 025 31472.
Fermoy has been a busy spot, the clubs is celebrating their 125th anniversary this year and they’ve already hosted two Munster finals. Next weekend Fermoy will host the Michael Cashman fourball Munster final. Dromoland Castle will take on Ballykisteen in the battle for the last Munster pennant of 2017.
Ward wins on the Double
Gary Ward had a double win last weekend, the Kinsale man scooped two senior scratch cups over the course of two days. On Saturday he headed to Kanturk and went around the North Cork course in one under par to record his second win of the year. On Sunday it was off to Co Clare for the 36 Dromoland Senior Scratch Cup, and Ward topped the leaderboard again after shooting rounds of 69 and 77. Ward won the Cobh Senior Scratch Cup in May, shooting a course record 66 on the way to his first senior scratch cup title. Ward played Kanturk for the first time on Saturday and it was a winning debut as he described. “It was my first time playing Kanturk and all I knew was that it was tight” said Ward. “I hit the ball where I could see it and played really steady golf the whole way around. The pins were very tough, a few hanging off slopes so it was tough to put it close. I never went over par and never went better than -2, my 3rd birdie on the par 3 16th saved my round and took my pars on 17 and 18 for a 70 to win by 1 from Peter Duane.”
After that win it was off to Dromoland for the Top Golfer 36 hole scratch cup. There was a top class field in Continue reading
Cork’s Top Golfers to challenge in Lahinch
A dozen Cork golfers will be hoping to bridge a 13 year gap and win the South of Ireland Championship this week. Mallow’s Meryvn Owens was the last man to bring the famous trophy back to Cork in 2003, when he beat the holder Colm Moriarty on the 18th green in Lahinch. Cork winners have been few and far between, John McHenry won in 1986 and before that there’s a 22 year gap to W A Kelleher’s win. The statistics would suggest that a few more years should pass before the next Cork winner, but given the strength and depth of the Cork golfers competing this year, don’t rule out a good run from a few of the form golfers.
Irish Amateur Open winner Peter O’Keeffe leads the Cork challenge, and O’Keeffe be hoping to play all seven rounds over the five days that will see him into the final. The big hitting Douglas member is currently playing of +3.3, and he’ll be joined by his friend and Barton Shield teammate Karl Bornemann. Kinsale have three representatives in the field, John Murphy has two wins in the bag this year and will be hoping to gain his first senior title. Cathal Butler won the Munster Strokeplay Continue reading
Murphy through to final 16 in North of Ireland
John Murphy had two matchplay wins today to advance to the third round of the North of Ireland Open in Royal Portrush. They were two contrasting rounds, he needed a huge putt on the last this morning to get past Kiet Van Der Weele but made short work of Andrew Mulholland this afternoon. Murphy always seemed to have a narrow edge over his opponent from Holland this morning but it took a 25 foot putt on the last to go one up and advance to the last 32. This afternoon he faced Castlerock’s Mulholland and solid golf – and a good few birdies – saw him go five up at one stage near the end of the front nine. In the end he closed put the match on the 15th with a 4&3 win. He now goes on to play Derek Downie from Kirkistown Castle. It’ll be another early start for Murphy with a 7.45am tee time. He’ll be hoping for another long day tomorrow with two rounds scheduled to bring the competition down to the final four golfers.
Cathal Butler lost out on the 18th green this evening, he was beaten by Tandragee’s Ross Dutton on the 18th. Butler had gone two down earlier in the match but had levelled it by the time they reached the 14th. The home player persevered however and took the win on the final green. Butler had overcome Andrew Continue reading
Sugrue heads Cork qualifiers, North of Ireland Championship
James Sugrue is one of three likely Cork qualifiers to make it through to the match play stages of the North of Ireland Championship at Royal Portrush. The Mallow man recovered from a disappointing front nine one the championship course that saw him turn on +3. Sugrue fought back with three birdies to level his score on the back nine on the Dunluce links, he finished with a 36 hole total of 140 (-3) to claim a place in the top 25. Sugrue’s level par 72 was one of the better scores today with many golfers failing to get around the difficult course links without dropping shots. Kinsale’s Cathal Butler carded a three over par 75 today, when added to his 66 from yesterday the Kinsale man also qualified comfortably on 2 under par. He had 15 pars and a birdie, but two consecutive double bogies on the front nine cost him a few spots on the leaderboard. Conditions were much better for day two of the championship which saw 300 golfers play over both courses at the famous resort on the northern coast.
John Murphy had nervy wait Continue reading
Butler opens with 66 at North of Ireland
Kinsale’s Cathal Butler opened with a very impressive 66 at the North of Ireland Amateur Open yesterday. Playing on the Valley links in Royal Portrush the Maynooth student shot a round of -5 to grab a tie for fifth place. Butler went out in -1 after three birdies and two bodies on the opening nine, but a powerful back nine saw him return in -4. Birdies on the 10th & 11th were followed by an eagle on the par five 16th. That see’s him just two shots off the lead held by Rowan Lester.
Mallow’s James Sugrue recovered from an early bogey on the 2nd, he went on to record four birdies and twelve pars to claim a place in the top 30 on -3. John Murphy shot a one under par round of 70 to lie just inside the Continue reading
Macroom Senior Scratch Cup, Saturday 1st July
Macroom will host their Senior Scratch on Saturday 1st July, and the event is set to be a sell out as many golfers will use this event to as preparation for the AIG Barton Shield. Macroom are hosting the South Munster qualifiers for the Barton in Mid July and Cork’s top golfers will have the chance to see the mid Cork course during championship conditions. Nutricia have come on board to sponsor the event, boosting the prize fund for all the participants.
Ian Spillane won the 2016 event, beating James Sugrue to make it a Mallow 1-2. Macroom’s Alan Moriarty won the event in 2015 which was the first time the event was held in several years. Given the upcoming Barton Continue reading
Super 64 by Butler in Newlands, Leinster Students Championship Round 2
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.
John Murphy was also in good form, shooting a 67 on day two. It was a bit more complicated for Murphy as three early birdies were cancelled out by three bogies on the front nine. Murphy hit the reset button and reeled off four consecutive birdies starting at the par three 12th. He couldn’t add to that on the 18th but the -4 return see’s him tied for the lead alongside Butler. Ben Murray (UCC) is the third man on -3, he shot a 68 to move from third place to tie the lead. Mallow’s James Sugrue is in 4th place two shots behind the leading trio, Sugrue was also in the 60’s with a two under par 69 to get to -1. Monkstown’s Sean Desmond also shot a 69 to get to back to +2 and a share of 9th place. Gary Ward had a 12 shot swing on day two, he had a 68 today after a disappointing 80 in yesterday’s testing conditions.
The man of the day was Butler though and after a few months of poor results the Kinsale golfer is back in the groove. “My swing felt really good today, it felt good yesterday as well only that it was very blustery” said the Kinsale man after the great round. “There were a lot of gusts and it was very tricky, and I didn’t get rewarded for the good shots. But today it was flat calm and it was pretty much target golf out there. I’ve did quite a lot of work on my swing with Paul Kiely in the past few months so it’s finally starting to come together.” And it wasn’t case of protecting a score as Butler kept on giving himself solid birdie chances. “I drove the ball really well today, and I’ve learned that when I’m playing well to put the boot down and keep going for birdies. I hit my only bad drive of the day on the 18th, I went into the trees but recovered and wedged on to eight feet. I hit the birdie putt around two feet past but overall I’m delighted with the round. There were great scores too from Gary [Ward] and John [Murphy] so hopefully there will be plenty more birdies for the Kinsale lads. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow, hopefully there will be more good weather and a few more birdies.”
Leinster Students Amateur Open Championship 12-14 June 2017
Results after 36 Holes
139 C BUTLER (Maynooth Scholars (a)), 75, 64; J MURPHY (Kinsale), 72, 67; B MURRAY (University College Cork), 71, 68141 J Sugrue (Mallow), 72, 69
142 G Dunne (Maynooth University Club (b)), 75, 67; E Griffin (Maynooth Scholars (b)), 71, 71
143 J Quinn (DCU), 72, 71; R Dutton (Ulster University (a)), 70, 73
144 S Desmond (Monkstown), 75, 69; P Cummins (Lurgan), 74, 70; E O’Brien (Maynooth University Club (a)), 74, 70
145 C Woodroofe (Maynooth University Club (a)), 73, 72
146 G Carr (Maynooth University Club (b)), 78, 68; P Brennan (Belvoir Park), 76, 70; D Smith (Castle), 76, 70; M Ryan (New Ross), 74, 72; Z Glynn (Bray), 72, 74
147 J Mc Donnell (Maynooth University Club (a)), 79, 68; R Steedman (Maynooth University Club (c)), 78, 69; W Small (Tandragee), 75, 72; S Greenberg (Ulster University (a)), 74, 73
148 G Ward (Kinsale), 80, 68
149 K McCarron (Maynooth Scholars (a)), 79, 70; S Mc Dermott (NUI Galway (a)), 78, 71; M Norton (Belvoir Park), 77, 72; J McVicker (Ulster University (a)), 77, 72; M Kennelly (NUI Galway (b)), 76, 73; P Murphy (Rosslare), 76, 73; J Bolger (Jnr) (Courtown), 76, 73; N McCann (Lurgan), 75, 74; C Hughes (NUI Galway (a)), 75, 74
150 T Ford (Maynooth University Club (b)), 76, 74 (Team Qualifiers)
153 E Smith (Maynooth Scholars (a)), 77, 76 (Team Qualifiers)
Non Qualifying
150 O Crooks (Bushfoot), 78, 72; C Melvin (Maynooth University Club (c) ), 77, 73; G Fitzmaurice (University College Dublin (a)), 77, 73; B Doran (IT Carlow), 77, 73; M McKenna (Dun Laoghaire), 75, 75; M MCKINSTRY (Cairndhu), 75, 75; M Boucher (Carton House), 75, 75; D McAleenon (Lisburn), 74, 76; C Raymond (Newlands), 74, 76
151 L Donnelly (Kilkenny), 76, 75; P Jordan (Lurgan), 75, 76
152 P KERR (Royal Portrush), 80, 72; L Grehan (Maynooth Scholars (b)), 79, 73; R Abernethy (Dun Laoghaire), 79, 73; T Collins (University College Dublin (a)), 78, 74; K Murphy (University of South Carolina), 78, 74; R Williamson (Holywood), 76, 76; M SHIEL (NUI Galway (b)), 74, 78; R Brazill (Naas), 73, 79
153 A Fahy (Dun Laoghaire), 78, 75
154 R Browne (University College Dublin (b)), 81, 73; C Harte (University College Dublin (b)), 80, 74; J Boyd (Cork IT (a)), 79, 75; D Pollock (Garden City Community College), 79, 75; J Blake (DCU), 78, 76; A McDaid (Dublin Business School), 75, 79; M McCormack (Ashbourne), 74, 80
155 A Riordan (Cork IT (a)), 81, 74; D Hourihan (University College Cork), 79, 76; D Coghlan (University Limerick), 79, 76; S Sweeney (USA), 77, 78
156 C Moloney (Fota Island), 79, 77; E Collins (DCU), 79, 77; D BRADY (Maynooth Scholars (b)), 78, 78; T Coakley (Cork IT (c) ), 78, 78; J Murphy (Greenore), 77, 79
157 C FEENEY (Co. Sligo), 79, 78; J Dunne (Borris), 78, 79; B Smyth (Howth), 78, 79
158 R Dineen (Cork IT (b)), 78, 80
159 L Cummins (Cork IT (c) ), 81, 78; A Crowley (Dublin Institute of Technology), 80, 79; A McSweeney (Cork IT (a)), 80, 79; L Branagan (Dublin Institute of Technology), 78, 81
160 C Bolger (IT Carlow), 82, 78; D O’ Brien (IT Carlow), 79, 81
161 B MURRAY (University College Cork), 82, 79; S Campbell (Ballyclare), 78, 83
162 J Murphy (Cork IT (b)), 79, 83
163 D O’Sullivan (Cork IT (b)), 87, 76
165 J Cleary (University College Dublin (b)), 89, 76; A Comerford (NUI Galway (b) ), 78, 87
166 L Flynn (Dun Laoghaire), 87, 79
NR J McCarthy (University College Dublin (a))
NS B Fehily (Newlands); C Nolan (NUI Galway (a))
Women:
Round 1 Par: 73; SSS: 73; CSS: 76
Round 2 Par: 73; SSS: 73; CSS: 73
153 S Burke (Maynooth Scholars (w)), 77, 76
154 M Doyle (Maynooth Scholars (w)), 79, 75
155 C Walsh (Maynooth University Club (c)), 77, 78
165 R Mc Donnell (Elm Park), 84, 81
170 M Doyle (Maynooth Scholars (w)), 91, 79
RTD J ALLEN (Ulster University (b))
Teams
285 Woodroofe/O’Brien/Mc Donnell, 147, 138
286 BUTLER/McCarron/Smith, 152, 134; Carr/Dunne/Ford, 151, 135
289 McVicker/Dutton/Greenberg, 144, 145
Non Qualifers
293 Griffin/BRADY/Grehan, 149, 144
294 MURRAY/Hourihan/MURRAY, 150, 144
296 Steedman/Walsh/Melvin, 154, 142
224 Mc Dermott/Nolan/Hughes, 153, 71
297 Blake/Quinn/Collins, 150, 147
307 Burke/Doyle/Doyle, 156, 151
301 Comerford/SHIEL/Kennelly, 150, 151
302 Collins/McCarthy/Fitzmaurice, 155, 147
307 Bolger/Doran/O’ Brien, 156, 151
308 Boyd/Riordan/McSweeney, 159, 149; Harte /Browne/Cleary, 161, 147
313 Murphy/O’Sullivan /Dineen, 157, 156
315 Coakley/Cummins, 159, 156
318 Branagan/Crowley, 158, 160
Tralee Win for O’Keeffe, Kerry Scratch Cup
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.
O’Keeffe had a tough start, he lost a ball out of bounds on the third, and frustratingly he could see the ball was less than a foot on the wrong side of the markers. A triple bogey there was a setback but O’Keeffe parred the next nine holes to get back into contention. He parred the difficult 12th hole to get back to a share of the lead and his only birdie of the day came on the 14th when he took Continue reading
Cork Golf News 