John Murphy rued a disappointing front nine in St Andrews today as dropped one spot to finish second at the R&A Scholars Tournament. After 36 holes on the Eden Course in St Andrew’s on Monday, Murphy led the field by two shots. By doing so he started the third round in the final grouping on the famous Old Course. Scoring was difficult on the normally manageable links, tough winds meant that there were several returns in the high seventies and eighties. Murphy suffered on the greens on the way out, with an uncharacteristic number of three putts and a rare double bogey. He turned on +5 for the day to drop himself back into the field and two more bogies followed on the 11th and 12th holes. To his credit, Murphy bounced back with three birdies on his last seven holes and the turn-around in form meant that he finished in a tie for second place. John’s Maynooth teammate Stuart Grehan carded a very tidy level par 72 to win the tournament by three shots.
Speaking after his round Murphy admitted that his touch was off in the tough wind on the opening nine holes: “The front nine was a disaster. I had seven 3 putts on the front 9, the wind was as strong as I’ve played in and I really struggled to put a stroke on it. I knew if I had a good back nine I could get Continue reading
John Murphy (Kinsale, Maynooth University) continued his good form as he produced to rounds of 68 and 64 to lead the R&A Scholars Tournament in St Andrews. Both of today’s rounds were played on The Eden Course and Murphy bagged no less than 12 birdies in his 36 holes. Murphy (-8) shot the low round of the afternoon and holds a one shot lead as he goes into tomorrow’s final round. The final round takes place on the fabled Old Course, and Murphy will have the honour of playing in the final group. Murphy will be joined by Cloe Ryan (UCD) who won the ladies section in 2016. Sinead Sexton and Molly Dowling are in the top five and in the mens section Stuart Grehan is three of the lead and Robin Dawson is a further to shots back. Murphy won the Munster Students Championship in Cork Golf Club last week, posting the best score over the first 36 holes in the weather affected tournament.
David Ryan and David Higgins came out on top on a glorious day in Monkstown today as the annual Morgan O’Donovan Perpetual Trophy competition took place. Both players shot an impressive 67 and although the sun was out the combination of a hard wind blowing and fast greens meant that only a few golfers managed to break par. The competition is now in it’s fifth year and commemorates Morgan O’Donovan who was Head Professional in Monkstown before his death in 2012. The competition today was sponsored by Ping and the pro-am format saw plenty of Munster PGA Professionals take the opportunity to get out and play with an amateur partner.
This week will see three evenings of night golf in Lee Valley. The event will mark the first time that Lee Valley will be lit up for a unique golfing experience. The ten-hole event will take place in darkness, with coloured lights marking the fairways, greens and hazards, and with a luminous golf ball in play, golfers will have no excuse for not keeping it in play. The team of four event takes place from Wednesday 29th to Friday 31st March, the shotgun format will see the 20 teams start at 8pm with prizes and refreshments included on each night.
John Murphy claimed the inaugural Munster Students title in Cork Golf Club today, the Kinsale golfer won on the result at 36 holes after play was cancelled on the final day. Snow and heavy rain rendered the course unplayable and after consulting with course staff, Tournament Director Dave Prendergast had no option but to cancel the final round with the results from 36 holes declared. Murphy finished on a total of 138 (-6) for the 36 holes, four shots clear of James McVicker (Knock) who took second place. Third place went to Cathal Butler (Kinsale), and holder Jack McDonnell (Forrest Little) was fourth, both golfers also finished on -2.
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