It’s down to the last 16 in Muskerry, day one of the Ford Junior Scratch Trophy is complete and the 64 qualifiers have been whittled down the the final 16. Current holder Liam Harte Jnr was a first round casualty, losing out to Adrian O’Sullivan of Muskerry. Previous winner John McSweeney made it through the first round but lost out in the afternoon to David Byrnes of Castletroy, leaving Diarmuid Linehan, current Muskerry Captain, as the only past winner through to the third round.
Sean Deasy of Douglas was first off this morning, and he’ll hold the first tee in the morning too after two good wins over Tom Tupper and Stephen O’Brien. He’ll face Darragh Murphy tomorrow in the first of the last 16 matches.
Ford Muskerry Junior Scratch Trophy – Draw & Results
Muskerry Golf Club launched their 2019 Senior Scratch Cup last week, and with a new sponsor and increased prize fund the competition is sure to attract a top class field. The 36 strokeplay competition takes place on Saturday 30th March and bookings are now open. The event will be limited to 66 golfers with lunch and refreshments included. Investec are coming on board as main sponsors, build o their strong presence in Cork and their support of amateur and professional golf nationally. “We are delighted to be associated with a leading global brand like Investec and are look forward to building this event into the leading 36 hole scratch cup in the country over the next few years” said Muskerry Captain Diarmuid Linehan. “Investec are the new sponsors, and they allow us to have an increased prize fund of €1,500 this year, but many thanks must go to our previous sponsors such as the Shine family and the Sadler family who have kept this competition alive through the years.”
Mairead Martin recently enjoyed a few weeks at home after an exciting few months in the US on a golf scholarship in Kentucky. The Kanturk golfer who completed her leaving cert in June and in August she moved to start with their acclaimed womens golf programme. It was a great first semester, Mairead finished the second highest ranked golfer on the roster claiming two top ten finishes on her first five tournaments. It was a busy few months for the teenager as she settled into her new home for the next few years. “The first couple of weeks were tough and quite intense it took a while for me to get used to how busy each day was between school, practice and workouts” explained Mairead. “I struggled to find time to even think about home or even be homesick. When I arrived in Louisville the team and coaches couldn’t have been 
This year could be summarised as a game of two halves for John Murphy. The Kinsale golfer spent the first half of the year playing well but struggling to get results, but the second half saw him hit some key milestones. These included an international win, an Irish cap and get finish to the season back in college in the US. While 2018 may have been his best year, Murphy didn’t feel like that at the beginning of the year a he explained. “The college semester was difficult for me” recalled Murphy. “I didn’t feel like I was competing as I had in the past. I wasn’t producing results that were reflecting how I was playing. In all honesty, I was worried, I was shooting some poor scores and I was getting very frustrated with myself. It was tough. I remember having a call with my parents at regionals where I just shot 7 over par. I told them I was playing well but I just couldn’t score, and then we all realized that I had been saying that all semester, and maybe I was being delusional. The week I got back 
2018 was a breakthrough year for Sara Byrne, and that was recognised last week when she won the Irish Golf Writers Womens Amateur of the Year award. The award was a reflection on the results Sara achieved during the year as well representing Ireland at two international competitions. It was a busy year for Sara, although she committed to playing in fewer events this year, the competitions she did select were higher in profile and the quality of the field was generally stronger. In terms of other awards, Byrne topped the Girls Order of Merit by a clear margin, and she also finished third on the women’s order of merit. Sara’s season started in March when she finished third in the Munster Womens Championship in Killarney. Rounds of 74, 75 and 78 saw her claim a podium finish although she did miss out on retaining her Munster Girls title by one shot. Despite playing well, she couldn’t manage to claim the top spot until she got to Enniscrone in June for the Irish Womens Close. She came through two rounds of Strokeplay and five rounds of matchplay golf to win the national title. Aside from the mental battle of matchplay, she also had to contend with extreme weather as wind and 
Dan Sugrue made it three from three in Castlemartyr on Monday when he won the third Munster PGA outing of the 2018 Winter Series. In fact it was a double for Sugrue as he teamed up with his brother John and Tim Rice to claim the team prize. Sugrue had a flawless front nine of 32 with birdies on 4,6,8 and 9. He had a further birdie 2 on 12 followed by his only drop shot on 13 – his first in 49 holes of competitive golf. His final birdie came on 15 for an inward 35.