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
Senior Scratch Cup
McGarry wins Glengarriff Senior Scratch Cup
Kenny 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).
O’Rourke jumps into automatic spot on Order of Merit
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 |
*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
Six 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
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
Castletroy Scratch Cup Results
Final Results:
Castletroy Scratch R1 Results
First Round Scores:
| Cathal Nolan | Galway | 68 |
| Paul Tobin | Cork | 69 |
| Fergal O’Sullivan | Tralee | 70 |
| Gary O’Flaherty | Cork | 71 |
| Eanna Griffin | Waterford | 72 |
| Jonathan McDonnell | Castletroy | 72 |
| Ian Spillane | Mallow | 72 |
| Greg Barrett | Mallow | 73 |
| Eoin Goggin | Mallow | 73 |
| Andrew McCormack | Castletroy | 73 |
| Eddie McCormack | Galway | 73 |
| Keith Bermingham | Castletroy | 74 |
| Mark Campbell | Castletroy | 74 |
| Fergus Harold | Castletroy | 74 |
| Cian Healy | Ballyneety | 74 |
Strong Cork Challenge for Castletroy Scratch Cup
No less than 14 Cork golfers will be aiming to win the Castletroy Senior Scratch Cup tomorrow. Gary O’Flaherty is a golfer on form, as is James Sugrue, Mark Shanahan and Ian Spillane. The Bank of Ireland sponsored event takes place at the picturesque course on the northside of the city and Continue reading
O’Flaherty runner-up in Ballybunion Senior Scratch Cup
Gary O’Flaherty (Cork)
Gary O’Flaherty proved he’s a golfer on form last weekend when he finished in second place at the Ballybunion Senior Scratch Cup. The 2014 winner was just one shot behind winner Fergal O’Sullivan (Tralee) on level par. This is the third year that Cork golfer finished in the top two, 2015 winner Ed Stack was third also finishing on level par.
Keith Crowley (Fota Island) was fourth and James Sugrue (Mallow) was fifth, both finished on +1 total of 144. Jack Howard (Fota Island) finished just inside the top ten and Mark Ford (Cork) was 11th. Mallow’s Eoin Goggin won the nett prize on -4.
The next senior scratch cup takes place Continue reading
Shanahan, Sugrue and Hickey in the red, Flogas Irish Amateur Open R2
Mark Shanahan and James Sugrue both shot two under par 70’s at Royal Dublin today in the second round of the Flogas Irish Amateur Open. Sugrue is now two under for the tournament and he’s just outside the top 10. Around half of the field have completed their second rounds. Castlemartyr’s Mark Shanahan is two shots behind Sugrue. He had a mixed start to his round but he birdied three of the last six holes to get back into the red and he’s on level par after 36 holes. Shanahan is tied for 20th place currently. John Hickey bounced back from his opening 75, he had four birdies and two bogies and signed for a 70 to get back to +1. Cathal Butler shot a second round 74 and he now also sits in 30th place on +1. Ian O’Rourke is currently on +5, he added a 75 to his opening 74 and he’ll need a better score tomorrow to make the 54 hole cut.
Lee Valley winner Colm Campbell from Warrenpoint leads the competition, he shot a second successive 68 to lead by two shots on -8.
Flogas Irish Amateur Open Live Scoring
