TOP 10 after Round 1:
James Sugrue (Mallow) 66
John O’Brien (Castlemartyr) 67
John Corcoran (Muskerry) 68
Andrew McCormack (Newcastlewest) 69
Pat Murray (Limerick) 69
David Reddan Jnr (Nenagh) 69
Ronan Twomey (Muskerry) 69
Mark Ford (Cork) 70
John Hickey (Cork) 70
Gary O’Flaherty (Cork) 70
Munster Strokeplay Champion Shaun Carter (The Royal Dublin) pictured at Cork Golf Club with Officers Robin Turnbull, President, Lady President Ann Kos, Captain Fergal Deasy, Lady Captain Katherine O’Kelly Lynch and Liam Harkin, GUI Munster Branch. Picture: Niall O’Shea
Entries for the Munster Strokeplay will close on Saturday 2nd April. The 72 hole championship event will be hosted by Cork Golf Club on Saturday 30th April and Sunday 1st May.
Link to Munster Strokeplay online entry
Currently there are 25 entrants playing off plus handicaps with a further 20 golfers playing off scratch. Former winner Pat Murray leads the entrants on +3.8 and the field also includes former three time winner Niall Gorey (+2.0). Former tour pro Peter O’Keeffe (+2.1) makes his championship debut after regaining Continue reading
Kinsale’s Cathal Butler had two good wins today to make it through to the last 16 in the West of Ireland Championship. Butler qualified on the cut mark of 82 and had an impressive 4&3 win over Jamie Fletcher this morning. This afternoon he faced Conor O’Rourke from Naas, and he dispatched the Irish International on the 17th, winning 2&1. Butler will have Dermot McElroy tomorrow morning, the Ballymena golfer is the current holder of the West of Ireland title. The NUIM student has entered the Munster Youths which starts in Monkstown on Wednesday, his plans might yet change with the final of the West scheduled for Wednesday also.
Seanie Barry was first on the course this morning, he had the tough challenge of playing against Sean Flanagan from Co Sligo. As well as being a local Flanagan was the leading qualifier. Barry matched Flanagan for most of the round in a very entertaining match. He eventually lost out to Flanagan on the 18th.
Mark Shanahan got off to a good start this morning and was leading by 2 at the turn. Play went against him however and he lost to Ben Best on the 18th. Niall Gorey was a withdrawal this morning due to a shoulder injury and is likely to be out for a few weeks. Ian O’Rourke also lost out in the first round, he lost out to Intervarsity Champion Alex Gleeson on the 17th.
Mark Shanahan, Cathal Butler and Seanie Barry, Ian O’Rourke and Niall Gorey all made the cut for the matchplay stage of the West of Ireland Championship. 40mph winds this afternoon forced a suspension in play and the inability to continue led to the cancellation of the second strokeplay round. The tournament committee had a tough decision and decided to make the matchplay draw based on the first round only.
Mark Shanahan and Paul McCarthy had made the good weather on Saturday morning, they both returned 73’s to put themselves in a good position. McCarthy was one of those adversely affected by the cancellation of Round 2, his 73 this morning to see him provisionally in 21st place with half of the second round scores in. McCarthy’s first round 84 meant that he finished in 85th place and two shots outside the cut mark. Cork’s John Hickey also finished on 84, two shots outside the cut.
Sean Barry (Fota Island) was the 64th and final golfer to make the cut, he’ll face leading qualifier Sean Flanagan from Co Sligo in the first game tomorrow.
West of Ireland Matchplay Draw
Kinsale’s Cathal Butler
Cathal Butler delivered a strong message on Sunday when he won the Top Golfer Senior Scratch Cup at Fota Island. The Kinsale and Maynooth University golfer announced his return to top level golf following a serious arm injury in August last year that could have threatened his participation at the top level.
Butler went around the Deerpark course in Fota in 67 strokes, four under par. James Fitzpartick (Mount Julliet) and Gavin Young (Nenagh) were next best with 72 and Lee Valley’s Pat Power was fourth with a 73. John Hickey and Hugh Foley Continue reading
Dave O’Donovan (Muskerry) was the 2015 winner of the Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup.
Lee Valley are set for a bumper event next month as they’ll host the 54 hole EMC Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup. Plans are at an advanced stage for the important competition and this year the competition is a counting event for the World Amateur Golf Rankings. The WAGR status is likely to help Tournament Director Vincent Drinan and the organising committee, and several high profile amateurs have already entered. Since Jeff Hopkins turned professional in late 2015, there are now 12 former entrants who have headed for the paid ranks. This of course includes current PGA Tour player Shane Continue reading
Fota Island will get their competitive golfing season up and running on the 13th March when they host their Senior Scratch Cup. The competition is being held over 18 holes and they have again partnered with Top Golfer, ensuring that there will be some great prizes on offer. The senior scratch cup has generally marked the start of the competitive season in Cork and a full time sheet is expected as golfers travel from all over Munster. In fact golfers could travel from further afield this year, Fota Island are hosting the GUI Senior Interprovincials so you can expect to see golfers from all four provinces playing on the Deerpark course between now and July. The entry fee is €40 and anyone interested in playing Continue reading
Adam McSweeney (Douglas)
Easter always see’s the staging of the Ford Muskerry Junior Scratch Trophy, a unique event for golfers with a handicap of 5-11. Two qualifying days sees the top 64 golfers go through to a matchplay phase player over Easter. 19 year old Adam McSweeney from Douglas added his name to the Ford Junior Scratch Trophy after three tough days. Although he was three down after just eight holes in the final, the Junior Cup and Senior Cup golfer fought back to level the match. McSweeney went one up on the 17th and closed out the 18th to become one of the youngest winners of the Continue reading
Unfortunately the Alliance outing planned for November is not going ahead. Bookings for the event were too low to proceed. Apologies to those people who booked and paid, refunds will go out tomorrow morning so please allow 1-3 days for it to appear in your PayPal account.
Many thanks to those who did book in and to those who paid, and thanks to Brady and Alan in Castlemartyr who were very helpful in organising the competition.
We will look into the possibility of running a competition over Christmas but demand will ultimately decide if the Alliance gets off the ground. Continue reading
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