It isn’t too often that a scratch golfer would have six bogies and a double – and still be happy with his round. Well that’s exactly what happened Sean Desmond in Lahinch today. Playing is his first South of Ireland, the Monsktown teenager shot a 74 in very testing conditions. That 74 included four birdies and an eagle, which helped Desmond to bounce back from the bogies. He was actually one under after an eagle on the 5th and he finished the front nine on level par. That included a lost ball on the 7th which led to a double bogey. A birdie on the 12th saw Desmond back in the red but three consecutive bogies on 13, 14 and 15 saw him return to the black and sign for a two over par 74.
Desmond held the clubhouse lead for a few hours but was surpassed by Rowan Lester who came home in three under to record a level par 72. Desmond is currently tied for second alongside Robin Dawson. Gary O’Flaherty and Peter O’Keeffe are the next best of the Cork lads, they both shot a four over par 76. John Hickey is two Continue reading
Fancy a trip to the Old Head? Are you playing off 9 or lower? Are you free any of the next four Thursdays? If so a new Lee Valley competition might be of interest. Jack Boyd and Paul Keohane have come up with a new weekly competition in Lee Valley that’s aimed at single figure golfers. Four weekly qualifiers will take place in August, starting on Thursday 3rd August and three golfers will qualify each week for the series final. The top four golfers from the final will book their place for round of golf in the Old Head in September with the winner on the day claiming the inaugural Old Head Cup. The best golfer each day, along with the runner-up and best gross will all qualify for the final, and there will also be daily prizes on offer.
The Boy’s Interprovincial Championships get underway today in Blarney with the U18 and U14 competitions kicking off the three day festival of golf. Mallow trio Edward Walsh, Adam Boland and Greg Barrett lead a strong Cork line up in the Under 18 championship while Bantry’s Mel Deasy and Douglas’ Zak Collins are in action in the Under 14 competition.
A dozen Cork golfers will be hoping to bridge a 13 year gap and win the South of Ireland Championship this week. Mallow’s Meryvn Owens was the last man to bring the famous trophy back to Cork in 2003, when he beat the holder Colm Moriarty on the 18th green in Lahinch. Cork winners have been few and far between, John McHenry won in 1986 and before that there’s a 22 year gap to W A Kelleher’s win. The statistics would suggest that a few more years should pass before the next Cork winner, but given the strength and depth of the Cork golfers competing this year, don’t rule out a good run from a few of the form golfers.
Castlemartyr is a busy place right now and the August weekend will be one of the busiest with their annual scratch cup weekend. Starting on Friday 4th August, the event is set to attract well over 400 golfers over the three days and there’s a large prize fund in place. The event is again sponsored by McCarthy Insurance Group who have been on board for the past four years. The course is set to be in great condition for the showpiece event, the recent fine weather has allowed Trevor Norris and his team to speed up the course which is always a treat for handicap golfers. The three scratch cups (Junior, Intermediate and Minor) take place from Friday to Sunday and the timesheet is filling fast. Since the course opened it became an immediate favourite for both societies and casual golfers. The weekly open singles series are always popular and the membership has grown steadily over the past decade.
Fota Island’s Open Week starts tomorrow with different events on each day. On Monday the 24th of July, golfers can enjoy Over 55’s Fourball at €100 per team. Ladies Three Ball Better Ball will take place on Tuesday at €35 per person and Open Singles at €40 per golfer takes place on Wednesday. On Thursday there’s an Open Fourball at €40 per golfer and Friday will once again host Open Singles at €40 per head, ending Fota Island Resort’s Open Week with specials that everyone can enjoy.
Midleton CBS Past Pupils GS won the 75th William Dwyer Trophy last week and this is the third time that the society have won the event. Previous winners in 2002 and 2006, the society are long term supporters of the event, and last week they ran away from the field with three great scores. Paul Cashman and Bernard Cashman led out the PPU team and their gross 80 was converted to a nett 71 when their nine shots were counted. Midleton’s third pairing of Derek Coll and Maurice Conway were also in the red after they shot a nett 71, thanks in part to a one over par front nine. Bob Cotter and John Moloney weren’t too far off the pace, set by their team mates, they signed for a level par 72 which beat CBS’s fourth card from Michael John Roche and Cormac Carroll. It was one of the best 
Cork’s Rachel Thompson is through to the final four in the Irish Girls Close. Thompson came through two tough rounds in Mallow today, and the leading qualifier is safely through to tomorrow’s semi-final. The Cork golf club member wrapped up yesterday’s first round match on the 13th winning 7&5 but today she went to the 19th before getting past Emma Forbes from Portrush. This afternoon her match with Georgina Carr went to the 17th with the Cork girl taking the match on a 2&1 margin to put her through to tomorrow’s semi-final with Maeve Rooney. There were wins too for Mairead Martin and Valerie Clancy, both golfers also come through two matchplay rounds today to qualify for the semi-final. They now face each other in the second semi-final tomorrow morning.
Cork Golf News 