Winners from 2020 can Smile

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There weren’t too many winners in Cork golf in 2020, but those few that did manage to claim success will look back on the year with a smile.  After losing eight weeks in the spring, and with graduated protocols for a return to competitive golf, the national and regional schedules changed dramatically with far fewer individual and inter-club events taking place.  Berehaven made history in October when the West Cork club won their first Munster title.  They won the Munster final of the AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield in Killarney   Wins over Tramore and Shannon saw them emerge from Killarney with the pennant as Munster champions, their first time the club had achieved success at this level.  Unfortunately for Berehaven, the plans for the all-Ireland finals in Donegal in late October were postponed.  The 2020 finals are now scheduled to take place in Donegal in 2021.

Peter O’Keeffe pictured after winning the Munster Strokeplay in August.
Picture: Niall O’Shea

Peter O’Keeffe won the Munster Strokeplay in Cork Golf Club in early September.  The traditional May date for the competition was lost but it was great that it was included in the reduced schedule for the Continue reading →

Funding Boost for Cork Clubs

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Fermoy Golf Cub

Cork Golf clubs got a big boost over the weekend when Golf Ireland announced the recipients of a new grant scheme.  Sixteen clubs received almost €300,000 in funding from Sport Ireland.  The Club Resilience fund aims to provide short term financial help to golf clubs to support business resilience and sustainability after Covid 19.  Fermoy were one of the clubs to be successful in this round of funding and Manager Denis Twomey was delighted with the news.  “This resilience grant will help greatly towards a few key projects and the club is very grateful for the assistance.  We are planning to develop our terrace area to cover the full length of the clubhouse overlooking the first tees.  This will give Continue reading →

O’Keeffe’s Drive for Fitness

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Peter O’Keeffe in his new gym in Douglas Golf Club.  Picture: Niall O’Shea

Unless you have an indoor studio and a trackman, the chances are you’re not playing much golf at the moment.  That’s probably the case for almost all golfers in Cork, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t be getting ready for the season ahead.  Peter O’Keeffe’s online golf fitness classes are proving popular for plenty of keen golfers.  The Irish International golfer is currently running a range of online classes, and he’s attracting a large audience for his weekly classes and programmes.  While the classes are online the content is all based from his new custom built golf performance gym in Douglas Golf Club.  With almost 12 months of zoom experiences behind us and the year starting with a two month lockdown, January was an ideal time for O’Keeffe to launch his twice weekly series of classes.  Now heading into March, Peter is Continue reading →

Barrett’s the new man in Muskerry

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Pat Barrett, General Manager of Muskerry Golf Club.

While last year brought many challenges for golf, it gave Pat Barrett an opportunity.  Pat took up the role of General Manager in Muskerry Golf Club last year and despite the interruptions from the lockdowns the Limerick man has been busy settling into his new role.  Having previously worked at other courses, Barrett was delighted to get the opportunity in Muskerry.  “Being from South Limerick I grew up playing Golf in Charleville North Cork so I was well aware of Muskerry being one of the established Cork clubs” explained Pat.

“I had played the course a few times Continue reading →

Byrne settling into life in Miami

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University of Miami’s Sara Byrne

While there’s still no golf action in Cork, Sara Byrne was in action in Orlando last week.  The Douglas golfer is in her first year at University of Miami, and despite being in Florida since August, this was her first event for the Hurricanes.  It was an impressive debut for the 18 year old, she finished in the top twenty and helped Miami to third place in the team competition.

Having spent the past 6 years on the Irish scene and working with the ILGU high performance squads, moving to Miami in August was a big change.  Covid meant the cancellation of the Fall series of tournaments so it was a quiet for the 2018 Irish Close winner.  “When I arrived in August it certainly was very different to what I had Continue reading →

Sugrue drives into professional ranks

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James Sugrue picking up his new Hyundai Tuscon from Finbarr Noonan, Kearys Hyundai Mallow.

James Sugrue finally left the amateur golf ranks last week, and first out of the block to support him were Kearys of Mallow who provided the golfer with a new Hyundai Tucson.  His appointment as brand ambassador for the local business was his first commercial deal, and hopefully many more will follow as the 24 year old sets out to earn a living in the world of tour golf.  Sugrue confirmed that he had signed with Swedish management firm Sportyard, and while his first appearance on tour is a few weeks away, he was delighted to get on board with Kearys.  “I am delighted to become Brand Ambassador for Kearys Hyundai Mallow and very much look forward to driving the all-new Hyundai Tucson.  As well as its exceptional design, there’s plenty of room for the clubs in the boot!” said an excited Sugrue.  As an amateur Sugrue was prevented from any sponsorship or endorsement deals, but once he made the Continue reading →

Busy 2021 for Murphy

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John Murphy was back in college golf action last week for the first time in ten months, but the Kinsale golfer has kept himself busy.  After working hard in Cork for the summer he travelled back to America last August, and he was determined to make to most of his extension as a student in University Louisville.  Murphy was a Senior last year but the cancellation of the second half of the season gave him another opportunity to compete in the 2021 NCAA college golf schedule.  It was a big decision to return in August, when many European based golfers chose to stay at home, but it paid off for Murphy, providing him with the weather and the facilities to improve his game.  “I felt as though the semester was really productive.  As always, I am just trying to learn and grow as much as possible as a player, and being in this environment certainly allowed me to do that.  I was able to compete with the world’s best Continue reading →

Inter-Club Handicaps Announced

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Entries are now open for the 2021 Inter-Club competitions.  Entry details for the national competitions were sent to golf clubs last week, with Golf Ireland also confirming the key handicapping information that will apply this year.  2021 will bring a few changes, with the old name of the GUI and ILGU Cups and Shields replaced with the new name of Inter-Club competitions becoming the central club events for Golf Ireland.  In January the new single governing body for amateur golf in Ireland officially took over from the Irish Ladies Golf Union and the Golfing Union of Ireland which had been responsible for the sport for over 100 years.  2021 promises Continue reading →

Buckley wins Emirates Amateur Open

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Cork’s Paul Buckley became golf’s first winner of 2021, he won the Omega Emirates Amateur Open last week.  The Kanturk native held his nerve during the closing stages of the elite amateur event to become the second Irishman to win the title.  “I’m absolutely delighted with the win and totally taken aback with all the attention, it must be lack of Cork sport at the moment” said Paul after arriving back in Cork on Sunday.

Paul along with Karl Bornemann travelled out to Dubai two weeks ago to take in two tournaments.  Buckley who spent over a decade in Australia prior to 2019 had played in a few Australian events in early 2020 but the Covid restrictions meant he had to look in a different direction for competitive golf this year.  “We had Continue reading →

Sugrue No 1 in Europe

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James Sugrue

James Sugrue starts 2021 on top of the European amateur rankings, the Mallow man was confirmed as the leading amateur on the European Golf Association rankings.  In addition to the EGA ranking, Sugrue also reached a high point of 5th on the World Amateur Golf Rankings last week.  While it’s unclear if Sugrue will tee it up in any further amateur competitions, his standing as an elite amateur is something to remember as he turns towards a career as a tour professional.

Having made the decision to compete on the professional circuit in 2021, Sugrue will have lots to look back on in his amateur career.  He was a solid performer in team golf, representing Mallow, Munster and Ireland from 2012 when Continue reading →