Tees for tomorrow’s first round:
Senior Scratch Cup
Murphy & Sugrue best placed in East of Ireland
John Murphy, Credit: Tristan Jones
John Murphy and James Sugrue were the best placed Cork finishers in the East of Ireland which concluded on Monday. Murphy ended up claiming a spot in the top ten, finishing in a tie for 6th place on +2. Murphy birdied the last to sign for a 73 and continues a good run of form. Like many other Cork and Munster golfers he’ll now head for Tralee for the Kerry Scratch Cup which takes place this weekend. With more Munster Order of Merit points on offer the competition for places on the Munster interprovincial team is heating up. Janes Sugrue closed with a two over par 74 today but signed for a very impressive 69 yesterday. The Mallow man tied the low round of the day with five birdies and two bogies which saw him jump up on the field. The winner was Reece Black from Hilton Templepatrick who blew the Continue reading
Hickey & O’Flaherty lead Cork charge at East of Ireland
John Hickey
John Hickey shot a two under par 70 in Baltray this morning to finish the first round in 5th place. A steady round saw Hickey turn on -2 after two birdies. He added a third bridie on the 14th but bogied the par three 15th immediately after that. Two more pars followed and he signed for a 70 which is just one shot off the lead set but a group of four golfers. Gary O’Flaherty returned to competitive golf after a short break and he went round the Co Louth links in a very respectable 71 strokes. Like his Cork Golf Club partner Hickey, Gary also had a very tidy round. Two birdies, one bogey and fifteen pars made up the card that saw him tie for ninth place just two shots away from the leading bunch. The fourway tie Continue reading
O’Keeffe out of the East, strong Cork challenge remains
Murphy pictured during the Alps Tour event in Clement Ader last week. Pic: Tristan Jones
Peter O’Keeffe was a late withdrawal this afternoon from the East of Ireland Championship which gets underway in Co Louth Golf Club tomorrow. O’Keeffe was one the highest ranked qualifiers but a neck injury has prevented him from taking part. He struggled with the problem last week during the Douglas Senior Scratch Cup and with no improvement he made the tough call to withdraw late this afternoon. Although the Irish Open champion is missing, there’s still a strong challenge from Cork.
Munster Students Champion John Murphy (Kinsale) returned from France earlier this week and he’ll be confident from a run of recent good form while fellow Kinsale member Cathal Butler will be looking to return to the form he displayed at the Munster Students in March. Both Sean Desmond (Monkstown) and Gary Ward Continue reading
Ward Wins in Cobh, Cobh Senior & Junior Scratch Cups
Gary Ward shot a very impressive 66 in Cobh today to win the Senior Scratch Cup. The score is a course record at the championship course. Ward had a good start and birdied the 3rd & 4th before he went on to add two more birdies on the 7th & 8th holes. He added another birdie on the par three 10th to get to five under. His only blemish came on the 12th when he dropped a shot after putting a ball in the water. Ward regained the shot on the very next hole and moved to six under when he bogied the last hole.
It was a 1-2 for Kinsale as Keith Fitzpatrick took second place with a 71. Cobh’s Gavin Lynch won the nett prize. Mark McGroarty won the Junior Scratch Cup in style with a level par 72 enough to win the title by two shots. Monkstown’s Ken Treacy was second on 74 and Eoin Wilson was third with a 75. Aaron Ward (Blarney) won the nett prize with a 69, beating Jack Ryan (Monkstown) on the countback.
Desmond claims first Scratch Cup win in Douglas
Cobh’s next big event is the AIG Junior Continue reading
Desmond claims first Scratch Cup win in Douglas
Sean Desmond (Monkstown) receives the Douglas Senior Scratch Cup from sponsor Kieran Canty, Kieran Canty Financial Services.
Monkstown’s Sean Desmond made a successful return from injury today when he won the Douglas Senior Scratch Cup. Desmond suffered ankle ligament damage earlier this month and that kept him off the course for three weeks. Douglas was his first competitive outing and this morning he shot a solid level par 72. The first year UCC student was two shots off the lead after the first round when his Senior Cup partner Eoghan Long led the field with a 70. It was a packed leaderboard with over 20 golfers within four shots of the lead. Desmond started fast the second round and he was three under through 10 holes. He gave two shots back thought on the 12th and the 16th. A birdie on the 17th however proved to be the difference and he went on to win by one shot.
“It’s my first scratch cup win and absolutely delighted to get one, especially in a big competition like Douglas” said a happy Desmond who was equally happy with the way he played. “I played very solidly. I hit the ball well in general, and hit a lot of greens. I put myself in the right spots most of the time except for a few holes where I made some very sloppy bogeys. But overall I Continue reading
Sugrue wins in Castletroy, Bank of Ireland Castletroy Scratch Cup
James Sugrue captured the Bank of Ireland Castletroy Scratch Cup this afternoon as a second round 69 saw him jump into a winning position. Four birdies and a single bogey meant that the Mallow man signed for a 69 and when added to his morning 72, he finished three shots clear of the field. David Reddan and Deam McMahon both finished on level par, with Reddan taking 2nd place on the countback. John Hickey was 6th on 147 and Paul Tobin had another good finish taking the second nett prize. A full field of 75 golfers took to the course for the 36 hole event.
Sugrue was just two shots off the first round lead at lunchtime. Castletroy’s John Hadnett shot a two under par 70 to hold the lead. Dean McMahon and Paul Tobin were in on 71 and Sugrue was in a group on 72.
Needless to say Sugure was delighted with his win and a credits a recent equipment change to his success. “I changed back to my old putter last week and I think that’s made a real difference” said a happy winner. “The course was in great shape, the greens were very nice and the course did suit me. There were a lot of two irons off the tees today.” The Bank of Ireland sponsored competition is one of the Continue reading
Murphy in contention in France
John Murphy is in the top five heading into the final day of the French Amateur Open at Chantilly Golf Club. Murphy started the second round in a tie for 12th place but shot 3 under to jump up seven places. Murphy had six birdies but a cold putter and lost ball meant that he dropped three shots to sign for a 68.
With 36 holes to come tomorrow the Kinsale teenager will fancy his chances even though there’s a four shot gap between himself and the leader. Denmark’s Marcus Helligkilde is in the lead on his own on -7 while Raphael Geissler (Germany) is in second place on -6. Murphy had an Continue reading
Tralee set to host Kerry Scratch Cup
A bumper €2,500 prize fund is in place for the Kerry Scratch Cup which takes place in mid June. The 54 hole event will again attract WAGR points and it has the added benefit of counting towards the Munster Senior Order of Merit, which will decide on half of the places for the Senior-Interprovincials.
The event is again sponsored by Kerry Group and the winner will take away €700. 36 holes will be played on Saturday 10th June with the top 30 golfers qualifying for the final round on Sunday 11th. Holder Jack Pierse is expected to ddefend his title with Andrew mcCormack, David Reddan and Peter O’Keeffe all hoping to do better after featuring in the top five last year.
The Arnold Palmer designed course is always an attraction but this year it has the added bonus of hosting the AIG Cups and Shields finals. The Barton, Senior Cup and Junior Cup will all take place in Tralee in August. There have been a few changes to the course and clubhouse over the winter, work has been carried to remodel the bunkers and the changing rooms, pro-shop and foyer have all been upgraded. The timesheet is now open and anyone interested should contact Alan Kelly on 086 3840630 or at alan.kelly@traleegolfclub.com
Major win for O’Keeffe, Flogas Irish Amateur Open
Peter O’Keeffe (Pic: Pat Cashman)
Peter O’Keeffe has been playing top level golf for 20 years and today he captured the top prize, the Flogas Irish Amateur Open at Royal County Down. From an elite junior golfer he moved into the US college ranks and from there he spent close to a decade on the Challenge Tour and Europro Tour trying to make the breakthrough in the paid ranks. In late 2015 he was reinstated as an amateur and last year he challenged on the local scratch cup circuit. Today he broke through to elite senior golf ranks when he won the Irish Open in style. One-stroke clear overnight, O’Keeffe cruised through much of the final round, winning by three thanks to a final round 73. The 35-year-old from Douglas ended the week on two over, three clear of Scotland’s Christopher MacLean and England’s Tom Sloman.
Needless to say the Douglas man was delighted with the win. “It feels fantastic. It was tough to keep my emotions in check there going up the last,” said O’Keeffe, who claimed his maiden championship title. “It was nice Continue reading
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