20 minutes can be a long time in golf, and that happened this evening as East Cork turned the tide to snatch a 3-2 win over Bandon in the AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield area final. Douglas was the venue for the South Munster final and a crowd exceeding 300 followed to five matches as they wandered through the course on a wonderful evening for golf. Bandon laid claim to the first two matches and put themselves in a strong position. Michael O’Dell and Ger Cummins won on the 17th while David Long and Charlie Long won 4&3. It looked like the third match would be the decider, East Cork’s Barry O’Brien and Tom Lynch were Continue reading
Gallery: East Cork v Bandon, AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield area final, Douglas Golf Club
Pictures from Douglas Golf Club this evening: Continue reading
AIG Pierce Purcell Shield Quarter final line-up complete
Blarney and Mahon hosted several first round matches on Sunday and the line up for Saturday morning’s eight matches is now complete. Lee Valley and Muskerry won in Blarney and the matches on Saturday morning are as follows:
Lee Valley v Macroom
Skibbereen v Lisselan
Blarney v Bandon
Dunmore v Muskerry
There were three matches down for decision on Sunday afternoon in Mahon and Raffeen Creek, Douglas and Cobh all came through. The four matches in Mahon on Saturday are:
Raffeen Creek v Fermoy
Mahon v Douglas
Cork v East Cork
Fota Island v Cobh
Full details of the draw are available here
No Joy for Murphy in France
There was no joy for John Murphy in Paris today as he tried to improve his position at the French Amateur Open. Murphy was tied for 5th place after 36 holes and with 36 more to play today. Unfortunately the Kinsale man couldn’t capitalise and a morning 72 (+1) meant that a win was out of reach. Things weren’t much better in the final round this afternoon, an eagle on the par five ninth was the only positive to report. He singed for a 74 in the afternoon giving him a final score of +2 in a tie for 20th place. Murphy is staying in France this week and will play in the Alps Tour event that takes place in ClementAder.
Gallery: AIG Pierce Purcell qualifiers at Mahon
Pictures from Mahon Golf Club: Continue reading
Sugrue wins in Castletroy, Bank of Ireland Castletroy Scratch Cup
James Sugrue captured the Bank of Ireland Castletroy Scratch Cup this afternoon as a second round 69 saw him jump into a winning position. Four birdies and a single bogey meant that the Mallow man signed for a 69 and when added to his morning 72, he finished three shots clear of the field. David Reddan and Deam McMahon both finished on level par, with Reddan taking 2nd place on the countback. John Hickey was 6th on 147 and Paul Tobin had another good finish taking the second nett prize. A full field of 75 golfers took to the course for the 36 hole event.
Sugrue was just two shots off the first round lead at lunchtime. Castletroy’s John Hadnett shot a two under par 70 to hold the lead. Dean McMahon and Paul Tobin were in on 71 and Sugrue was in a group on 72.
Needless to say Sugure was delighted with his win and a credits a recent equipment change to his success. “I changed back to my old putter last week and I think that’s made a real difference” said a happy winner. “The course was in great shape, the greens were very nice and the course did suit me. There were a lot of two irons off the tees today.” The Bank of Ireland sponsored competition is one of the Continue reading
Murphy in contention in France
John Murphy is in the top five heading into the final day of the French Amateur Open at Chantilly Golf Club. Murphy started the second round in a tie for 12th place but shot 3 under to jump up seven places. Murphy had six birdies but a cold putter and lost ball meant that he dropped three shots to sign for a 68.
With 36 holes to come tomorrow the Kinsale teenager will fancy his chances even though there’s a four shot gap between himself and the leader. Denmark’s Marcus Helligkilde is in the lead on his own on -7 while Raphael Geissler (Germany) is in second place on -6. Murphy had an Continue reading
Timesheet: Castletroy Scratch Cup 2017
Best of luck to the Cork players:
No Joy for Cork Golfers
There was no joy today for the seniors who were playing in the Irish Seniors Open Championship in Co Tipperary, and Brian O’Donovan also failed to secure a full card in the PGA China final qualifying.
Holder Tom Cleary was among the local hopefuls in action but he couldn’t match the results of 2016 and rounds of 78,76,78 saw him finish just inside the top 20. Not much of a consolation but he was the highest placed golfer from Cork after the three rounds. Doneraile’s Tahg Heenan opened with a disappointing 81 on Wednesday but closed with two rounds of 76 to finish one shot behind Cleary and inside the top 30. Micheal Quirke had threatened the lead on day one after shooting a 73 but rounds of 79 yesterday and 82 today saw him drop out of contention. Kinsale’s Jerry Crean was the only other Cork golfer to make the cut and he finished one shot behind Quirke. The winner was Wales Nicholas Grimmitt who finished on +7 to edge out Tramore’s John Mitchell by one shot.
Bandon’s Brian O’Donovan was in action in the final round of qualifying at the PGA China Tour School this morning. O’Donovan had been hoping to claim on of the 16 full tour cards on offer after posting rounds of 71/72/70. The wheels came off on the final round however and O’Donovan shot a 77 to finish outside the qualifiers. In the past O’Donovan has used Monday qualifying to gain entry into some of the events, the Shenzen based professional is a Lead Instructor at one of the Mission Hills Academies in Shenzen.
Tralee set to host Kerry Scratch Cup
A bumper €2,500 prize fund is in place for the Kerry Scratch Cup which takes place in mid June. The 54 hole event will again attract WAGR points and it has the added benefit of counting towards the Munster Senior Order of Merit, which will decide on half of the places for the Senior-Interprovincials.
The event is again sponsored by Kerry Group and the winner will take away €700. 36 holes will be played on Saturday 10th June with the top 30 golfers qualifying for the final round on Sunday 11th. Holder Jack Pierse is expected to ddefend his title with Andrew mcCormack, David Reddan and Peter O’Keeffe all hoping to do better after featuring in the top five last year.
The Arnold Palmer designed course is always an attraction but this year it has the added bonus of hosting the AIG Cups and Shields finals. The Barton, Senior Cup and Junior Cup will all take place in Tralee in August. There have been a few changes to the course and clubhouse over the winter, work has been carried to remodel the bunkers and the changing rooms, pro-shop and foyer have all been upgraded. The timesheet is now open and anyone interested should contact Alan Kelly on 086 3840630 or at alan.kelly@traleegolfclub.com
Cork Golf News 