The countdown is on to the Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup which takes place this weekend, with a top class field hoping to win Cork’s only 54 hole scratch cup. John Murphy, Ian O’Rourke, John Hickey and Peter O’Keeffe lead the field, all four are playing off +3 and over 30 more golfers are playing off scratch or lower. O’Keeffe recently won the Mid West Alliance and will be hoping to continue to run of form while Murphy is also coming off a big win in the Munster Students Championship. Despite moving to Dublin, O’Rourke has been a loyal supporter of Cork events, and the Royal Dublin has seen his handicap drop further to +3. John Hickey has been out with an injury for the past few weeks and he too will be looking to build on the inter-varsity title he won at Continue reading
Senior Scratch Cup
Dell EMC Lee Valley SSC Drawsheet
Desmond through to Matchplay in West of Ireland
Monkstown’s Sean Desmond made it through to the matchplay stage on his debut in the West of Ireland Championship today. Desmond shot a second successive 73 at Co Sligo and finished inside the top twenty. Sean had a colourful card today, five bogies and a double were offset by five birdies on the testing links track. Tomorrow he has a 7.27am start where he’ll face Robert Brazill from Naas.
Desmond was the only Cork qualifier in a very narrow field that saw just three Cork golfers get into the tournament. James Sugrue finished 20 places outside the matchplay cut while Kinsale’s John Murphy had a tough debut with rounds of 79 and 77. Conor O’Rourke secured the Silver Medal as the best qualifier on -2, while just two others managed to break par. Three days of matchplay golf follow as all 64 qualifiers will have hopes of winning the season’s first major event.
West of Ireland Matchplay Live Scoring
Bumper entry for Munster Strokeplay
2014 Winner Barry Anderson
A top class field has entered for the Munster Strokeplay which takes place at the end of this month and the cut looks like falling again from the 2016 mark of 0.5. Entries for the showpiece Cork Golf Club event closed last night and there were no less that seven late entries that should qualify, four of those playing from plus handicaps. Although all handicaps will need to be verified, it’s looking like the cut will fall at 0.3, with not all of those playing from this mark getting in on the first cut.
Tiernan McLarnon was one of the late entrants and he leads the handicaps, playing from +3.6. There are over fifty golfers playing from plus handicaps including 24 who Continue reading
Munster Strokeplay closing date approaching
2016 winner Cathal Butler (Kinsale) Picture: Niall O’Shea
Gallery: Munster Strokeplay 2016
Holder Cathal Butler (Kinsale) won the event last year after an exciting play-off win over Cork’s Gary O’Flaherty. Butler has already entered, as has Kinsale’s John Murphy who won the Munster Student’s Championship in Cork GC this week. This year the Munster Strokeplay is a counting event for the GUI Order of Merit (Willie Gill Award) and that should be an added incentive for golfers to travel to Cork for the May Bank Holiday weekend. The event has been a WAGR counting event for several years, and it also counts towards the Munster Senior Order of Merit. Last year there were over 50 golfers playing off scratch or better, and the indications are that a similar standard will be seen when the event gets underway on Saturday 29th April. Peter O’Keeffe (+2.9), Ian O’Rourke (+2.6), Mark Power (+2.5) and James Sugrue (+2) head the entrants at present. A total of 78 golfer will compete in the opening 36 holes, with the top 39 (plus ties) going forward for the second 36 holes on Sunday 30th April.
Munster Strokeplay Championship 2017 Entry Form
Lee Valley set for bumper Scratch Cup
Pictured at the launch of the Dell EMC Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup were Pat Power (Captain), Elaine Beare and Gillian Bergin (Dell EMC) and Declan Farrell (President)
The golf season is finally getting underway and last week Lee Valley launched their showpiece Senior Scratch Cup which takes place next month. The 54 hole tournament is the only club event in Cork that attracts WAGR world ranking points and should again attract some of Ireland’s top amateurs. The competition takes place on the 22/23 April and just a week after the West of Ireland unofficially opens the 2017 season. Tournament Director Vincent Drinan has been involved since the inaugural 54 hole event in 2009 and he’s already busy taking entries. “We are really looking forward to another great event this year” said Drinan. “Entries are now open and anyone interested in playing should contact me directly. Last year we used a later date in April and this worked very well, and the course should be in excellent condition for the event. The feedback has always been positive from the entrants, both from local golfers who play here regularly and from those who travel. We already have a number of Continue reading
O’Keeffe wins Doneraile Senior Scratch Cup
Peter O’Keeffe notched up his third Senior Scratch Cup win this month with a fine 67 in Doneraile today. O’Keeffe finished with a one under par 67, despite carding two bogeys and a double bogey. The Douglas man did have five birdies which did help the card and he was cruising nicely until the 11th when he had a double after trying to go for the par 4 green.
After wins in Kinsale and Castlymartyr earlier this month, O’Keeffe is definitely on form. He had a two shot winning margin over Irish Seniors International Michael Quirke who finished on 69. Apart from the winner, the home club too the rest of the prizes, David Finn finished on 72 and the nett prize was won by Hugh Dolan with a 68.
Doneraile Senior Scratch Cup, sponsored by Eilys Bar
- Peter O’Keeffe 67
- Michael Quirke 69
- Dave Finn 72
- Hugh Dolan 68 (Best Nett)
Two Cups in Two Days – O’Keeffe is the form golfer, Castlemartyr Senior Scratch Cup
Peter O’Keeffe has worked hard all year to win a senior scratch cup, and this weekend he won two. After shooting a winning 68 in Kinsale yesterday, O’Keeffe was back on course this morning in Castlemartyr. Starting early again, the Douglas man plotted his way around the Ron Kirby designed links and carved out a three under par 69.
And O’Keeffe repeated another thing this morning that he did yesterday. He lost a ball on the opening hole and took a double bogey. The Munster golfer’s tee shot found the heavy rough and the ball was lost. Like yesterday he recovered and added three pars before getting his first birdies on the 5th. He also birdied the par five 8th to gt back to level par before parring the 9th. O’Keeffe went under par following a birdie on the 11th but couldn’t do better than that as he parred the next five holes where at least a birdie or two might have been expected. He capitalised on the closing holes however. He chipped in on the 17th after missing the green, and on the last hole he hit a nine iron from 175 yards to ten feet. He made the putt to sign for a winning 69.
Dave O’Donovan (Muskerry) took second place with a 73 and Kinsale’s Cathal Butler was third with a 74. Mallow’s James Sugrue was fourth with 75 and Michael Lenihan won the best nett prize.
O’Keeffe Wins Kinsale Senior Scratch Cup, Murphy helps Ireland to European Boys Team Title
Peter O’Keeffe (Douglas)
Peter O’Keeffe won the Kinsale Senior Scratch Cup today with a four under pat 68. O’Keeffe recovered after an interesting start, he put a three iron out of bounds on the first tee which meant he walked onto the second hole on +2. He recovered however and started racking up the birdies. He went under par on the 3rd, 6th and 8th before dropping a shot on the 9th. O’Keeffe added four birdies and five pars on the back nine to set the clubhouse lead on -4. The round could have been better, O’Keeffe missed a birdie putt on the 17th and an eagle putt on the 18th. Still it was enough to give the Douglas and Munster golfer his first scratch cup of the year. Kinsale’s Keith Fitzpatrick also finished with a 68 but had to settle for second place with O’Keeffe beating him on the back nine. Cork’s John Hickey finished in third place. Many of the golfers today will be in action again tomorrow in the Continue reading
Cork Golf Club Senior Foursomes
Entries are currently open for the Cork Golf Club Senior Foursomes which take place on the 27th and 28th of this month. The 36 hole competition is open to gents aged 55 or over and the entry fee is €70. The competition is a popular event in the Cork calendar and has been running since 1988. The current holders are Micheal Quirke and Tom Cleary, Quirke is the Leinster Seniors champion and Cleary is the Irish Seniors champion. Gross and nett prizes are on offer.
Details are available from the club and booking can be made through this link
Cork Golf News 