Peter O’Keeffe
The O’Keeffe train kept on pulling today. After well over a week on the road Peter O’Keeffe put together back to back wins in Portstewart today to get through to the last 16 in the North of Ireland. He had another action packed day today, at 8.03am he was on the first tee facing Eoghan Collins. A steady performance saw him dispatch the Laytown & Bettystown member on the 16th. This afternoon he faced Rosslare’s Ian Lynch, and the Douglas man got off to a flier winning four of the first seven holes. O’Keeffe held his lead before eventually winning 3&1. He’s now safely through to tomorrow’s third round where he’ll face Tandragee’s Jake Rowe.
After spending most of last week in Lahinch where he was working with Robin Dawson, O’Keeffe left Co Clare on Sunday to head for the North, where he had an afternoon tee time for the first round in Castlerock. A poor start on Monday (+5) was followed by a very impressive 69 on Tuesday when he played on Portstewart’s championship links.
Paul Buckley had a good win this morning when the Kanturk native had a 4&2 win against Barry Cashman. That saw him face Geoff Lenehan in the second round. Buckley was one up early doors but Portmarnock’s Lenehan, who was tied as the strokeplay leader battled hard and won 4&2.
Cathal Butler was a casualty in this morning’s first round. Despite a bright start which saw him go two up on Aaron Edwards Hill, the Englishman fought back and beat Butler on the 17th.
Monkstown Golf Club are hosting a unique challenge on Saturday, two golfers will try and complete 180 holes in one day. Monkstown’s Club Professional Cian McNamara and General Manager Brian Hurley have set themselves the challenge to play ten rounds of golf in one day. Playing under the rules of golf, and counting both scores, the pair will be walking the course adding to the difficulty of the task. Starting at 4.30am on Saturday morning (28 minutes before dawn!), the challenge is expected to last well into the evening, and with no guarantee of success the two PGA Professionals will have a long day ahead of them on Saturday. The only other similar feat in Cork was completed by Lee Valley’s Denis O’Brien who completed seven rounds at the Clashnure course in Ovens well over a decade ago.
Some major improvements to the golf course in Bandon are underway with the first phase including major improvements to the practice areas and the first hole. With over 950 members, the 110 year old club is working hard to remain a driving force for golf in West Cork. Bandon President Donal O’Donovan has been involved with the club for several decades, having held the role of Captain in 2002, he has represented Bandon at the highest levels. That included being part of the Irish Senior Cup team that won the national title in 2010. As well as being a scratch golfer for most of his playing time, Donal has also served on many committees and as President this year he described the programme the club set out to implement the course improvements. “Two years ago, we felt that the course needed to be improved, so we set up a development committee that would be in place for 
Robbie Walsh leads the Connacht Boys after an impressive round where he shot a 68. The Kinsale teenager had five birdies on his way the the four under par round in Oughterard. A bogey on the final hole spoiled an otherwise flawless round, and he ties the overnight lead with Joshua Hill. Keelan McCarthy (Lee Valley) and Shane Connor (East Cork) are the next best Cork players, they shot level par and are tied for 13th place. Muskerry duo Fionn Hickey (+2) and Jack Egan (+3) are both inside the top thirty, along with Mallow’s Ronan Feerick. Round two in Oughterard takes place tomorrow with the top 45 qualifying for the final round.
Pat Lyons shot an opening one 
Lee Valley’s Mel Deasy has been selected to represent the GUI at the McGregor Trophy later this month. Deasy, who is a member of the Irish Boys U16 panel, is one of six players selected to represent the GUI. Deasy had a great start to the season, winning the West of Ireland qualifier, and making the cut in the event. He’ll be looking forward to the next few weeks with several boys competitions taking place, in addition to the McGregor. The McGregor Trophy, which is contested for the English U16 Stroke Play Championship, is a 72-hole tournament. After two rounds, the top 40 and ties will progress to play the final 36 holes. Among the previous winners is England’s Justin 
