Senior Scratch Cup

McCarthy continues leading role in Lahinch, South of Ireland Day 2

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Paul McCarthy Munster Youths Tralee

Paul McCarthy

Paul McCarthy shot another under par round to finish the strokeplay phase in a tie for second place.  McCarthy shot a two under par 70, with two birdies in the last three holes to get back into the red.  McCarthy, currently playing off +2 was just one shot behind leader Jake Whelan from Newlands.  Peter O’Keeffe carded his second successive 74 to finish in on +4 and safely inside the cut for the matchplay phase.  Cork’s John Hickey finished one shot outside O’Keeffe, Hickey was having a solid round until the 11th when he went on to bogey five of the closing holes.  Both O’Keeffe and Hickey were in great positions after the opening round, and solid second rounds meant that they were never at risk of missing the cut.

Kinsale’s Cathal Butler was hovering around the cut line after day one and a second round 73 certainly helped his chances of making the Continue reading →

Super 69 for McCarthy in Lahinch, South of Ireland Day 1 Report

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Paul McCarthy (Mallow Golf Club)

Paul McCarthy (Mallow Golf Club)

Mallow’s Paul McCarthy took advantage of an early start this morning to set the tone for the opening round of the South of Ireland Championship.  McCarthy raced into the lead with a near flawless 69 and finished in second place at the end of play on the opening day.  The 2015 Munster Youths champion went out in 34 thanks to birdies on the 2nd and 8th.  He had another two birdies on the way back but dropped a shot on the index one 15th hole.  He signed for a 69 leaving him one shot off the lead held by Jake Whelan from Newlands.

McCarthy was naturally very happy with the round, especially because it was an all-round performance: “It was an all round solid day really, but if I had to pick something it was my putting which was very good from start to finish.”  McCarthy goes into day two as Continue reading →

Quirke wins Leinster Seniors Title

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2016 Leinster Seniors Amateur Open Championship at Glasson Golf

Michael Quirke (Doneraile) winner of the 2016 Leinster Seniors Amateur Open Championship trophy after his victory at Glasson Golf Club today. Picture by Pat Cashman

Doneraile’s Michael Quirke won the Leinster Seniors today, a one under par 72 was enough to give the North Cork man a three stroke margin of victory at Glasson Golf Club.  Fifteen steady pars were interrupted by two birdies and one bogey as Quirke carded one of only two under par rounds of the championship.  Michael had shot a level par 73 in the first round to hold the joint lead with  Garth McGimpsey and Val Smith.  Neither Smith or McGimpsey could match their first round scores, McGimpsey’s 78 was good enough for 4th place while Smith faded with an 86.  Barry O’Leary (Greystones) was second on +2 and John Mitchell (Tramore) was third on +4.  Cork’s Tom Cleary had another 76 today to give  him a share of 5th place, with Jerry Crean (Kinsale) and Peter Cowley (Cork) tied in 13th place.  George Mellerick (Fota Island), John Cuffe (Monkstown) and Paddy Harrington (Muskerry) all finished down the field. Continue reading →

O’Flaherty wins Irish Mid-Am title for second time

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2016 Irish Over-30s Amateur Open Championship at Limerick Golf C

John Moloughney (Chairman, Munster Branch, GUI) presenting Gary O’Flaherty (Cork) with the 2016 Irish Over-30s Amateur Open Championship trophy after his victory at Limerick Golf Club today (19/06/2016). Also in the picture is Frank O’Mahony (Captain, Limerick Golf Club). Picture by Pat Cashman

Gary O’Flaherty won the Irish Mid Amateur Championship for a second time today in tough conditions in Limerick.  O’Flaherty had a five shot lead going into the final round however difficult playing conditions meant that a win was far from guaranteed at Limerick Golf Club.  He was four shots ahead of Eddie McCormack (Galway) and both golfers matched each other on the front nine.  After three pars each, they both birdied the 4th and they both went on to bogey the 5th.  They both turned on +1 but McCormack started a charge with birdies on the 10th and 12th to cut the lead to three.  O’Flaherty was playing very steady golf but bogied the 16th when his ball Continue reading →

British Mid Amateur Championship

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Dave O’Donovan finished in the top ten at the British Mid Amateur Championship last month.  The Muskerry golfer travelled to Nottingham at the end of May to play in the 54 hole championship at Hollinwell GC.  O’Donovan opened with a disappointing 79 (+7) which saw him just outside the top half of the field.  He recovered however with a 74 (+2) in the afternoon, and the following day he closed with a very respectable 75 that saw him finish in 7th place.  Niall Gorey also travelled to Hollinwell to play his first competitive rounds since an injury ruled him of of several early season events.  Gorey was in a good position after shooting a 76 in the opening round but a second round Continue reading →

McGarry wins Glengarriff Senior Scratch Cup

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Kenny McGarryKenny McGarry won the Glengarriff Senior Scratch Cup on Sunday when he shot a two under par 64.  McGarry (Castlemartyr) won by one shot from Glengarriff member David O’Sullivan.  The local man had beaten McGarry several times in the past but on this occasion the Castlemartyr member finished on top.

McGarry got off to a good start with a birdie on  the opening hole but a double bogey threatened to derail his round.  He bounced back with a birdie on the next hole to get back to level par, and he added two more birdies at the 12th and 14th.  It was an interesting round for McGarry, he broke his driver during Saturday’s President’s Prize in Castlemartyr, and had to make do with with his one iron to get around the track at Glengarriff.

It was McGarry’s third Senior Scratch Cup win, he won the Kinsale Scratch Cup back in 2005, the Heritage Scratch Cup last year, and the +1 handicapper is obviously back on form.  He’ll be action with the Castlemartyr Senior Cup team in their preliminary match against Fermoy at Lee Valley (Senior Cup Draw).

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O’Rourke jumps into automatic spot on Order of Merit

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Munster Strokeplay Championship 2016

Ian O’Rourke

Ian O’Rourke made a jump of seven places on the Munster Senior Order of Merit thanks to his top eight finish at the East of Ireland at Co Louth.  The Cobh native had two great under par rounds on the final day to jump up the leaderboard.  O’Rourke is now in third place on the order of merit, and more importantly holds one of the four automatic places.  Cathal Butler made the cut at the East to extend his lead at the top of the table and Gary O’Flaherty remains in second place after a very strong May.  Andrew McCormack drops down to fourth place and there are three players tied for fifth place.  Mark Shanahan, Robin Dawson and James Sugrue are all on 90 points, just 10 points behind McCormack.

There are just three official events remaining on the calendar, the British Amateur takes place this weekend with Eanna Griffin, Geoff Lenehan and John Hickey all hoping to make the draw.  The Connacht Strokeplay also takes place this weekend,  and the Kerry Scratch Cup (Tralee) takes place the following weekend.

Munster Senior Order of Merit (after 11 Events)*

Pos. Name Total
1 Cathal Butler 150
2 Gary O’Flaherty 120
3 Ian O’Rourke 110
4 Andrew McCormack 100
5 Mark Shanahan 90
6 Robin Dawson 90
7 James Sugrue 90
8 John Hickey 85
9 Pat Murray 65
10 Eanna Griffin 60
11 Dave Redden 45
12 Geoff Linehan 45
13 Mark Ford 40
14 Peter O’Keeffe 30
15 Sean Barry 30
16 Gary Ward 30
17 Thomas Neenan 30
18 Ian Spillane 30
19 Declan King 30
20 Daniel Brennan 30
21 Fergal O’Sullivan 25
22 Ian O’Flynn 20
23 Mark Healy 20
24 Gavin Young 20
25 Daniel Hallissy 20
26 Emmet Leahy 20
27 C O’Donnell 20
28 Jack Ryan 15
29 Paul Tobin 15
30 Paul Flynn 15

Repairit-ie_1*Based on results received from host clubs, using the published weightings for each event, this is an unofficial list

Six Cork golfers in East of Ireland Action

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Co LouthSix Cork golfers will start in tomorrow morning’s first round of the East of Ireland.  Munster Strokeplay winner Cathal Butler and Kinsale teammate Gary Ward are in action, as are Mallow duo Paul McCarthy and James Sugrue.  Mark Shanahan (Castlemartyr) and John Hickey (Cork) are also playing.

Introduced by Co Louth Golf Club in 1941, the first East of Ireland was won by Joe B Carr, who Continue reading →

Order of Merit Race Heats Up

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Munster Strokeplay Championship 2016

Gary O’Flaherty

Gary O’Flaherty’s performances in Castletroy, Cork and Ballybunion this month will have moved him up the Munster Senior Order of Merit.  There are four automatic places in the team from the Order of Merit, and three of them look like going to Cathal Butler, Andrew McCormack and Gary O’Flaherty.  Mark Shanahan, John Hickey and James Sugrue are all battling for the last automatic place, as are Waterford duo Eanna Griffin and Robin Dawson.  There are plenty of points on offer over the coming weeks.  The East of Ireland takes place next week and the Tralee Scratch Cup, the Connacht Strokeplay and the British Amateur all take place in June.  Captain Phil Cooney will have a tough job selecting his four picks as all of the above along with Pat Murray, Ian O’Rourke, Peter O’Keeffe and Continue reading →