Pictures from Sunday morning in Lee Valley: Continue reading
Andrew McCormack
McCormack & O’Donovan tied for the lead in Lee Valley
Andrew McCormack
After a superb day for golf, Andrew McCormack and Dave O’Donovan are tied for the lead on four under par. O’Donovan was level par for his second round, adding to his earlier 68 while McCormack shot 69/71. The Castletroy member clawed a shot back from O’Donovan this afternoon to tie for the lead. Gary O’Flaherty is one shot off the leaders, he also shot level par this afternoon after a 69 this morning.
Bandon’s Donal O’Donovan had a very impressive 70 this afternoon, he’s in fourth place on 143. Peter O’Keeffe is next on 144 after two level par rounds, and Mallow’s James Sugrue is also on 144. John Murphy, Joe O’Sullivan and Eanna Griffin are all on 145, all three have a chance tomorrow but they will need to go low to catch and the beat the leaders. The cut (top 30) fell at 150, two shots better than last year which is no surprise given the Continue reading
Dave O’Donovan leads Lee Valley with 68, Senior Scratch Cup R1
Dave O’Donovan follows his tee shot on the 4th in Lee Valley this morning. Picture: Niall O’Shea
2015 winner Dave O’Donovan holds the first round lead in Lee Valley after shooting an excellent 68 in great conditions this morning. 78 golfers took the course for the Dell EMC sponsored event, as sunshine and fast greens greeted the competitors. O’Donovan leads the tournament by one, Gary O’Flaherty and 2016 runner up Andrew McCormack are one shot back on 69.
Munster Students champion John Murphy is in fourth spot on 70 and James Sugrue also got into the red with a one under par 71. Peter O’Keeffe and Ben Murray are among a few players who shot level par. Although conditions are good, scoring is tough on the parkland course with back tees and tricky pins contributing to the stiff test for some of Ireland’s top amateurs. Ronan Curran (74) is the best of the home players while Lee Valley Captain Pat Continue reading
O’Keeffe starts 2017 with a win, Mid West Golf Alliance
Peter O’Keeffe opened his season on a high last Sunday when he finished joint top at the opening round of the Mid West Golf Alliance at Dromoland. He shot 37 points to tie for the lead alongside Andrew McCormack and David Reddan Jnr.
O’Keeffe has been working hard on his own strength & conditioning programme and while that’s yielding results in the studio, and his on course programme seems to be going to plan too. Despite losing a ball on the 5th hole, he held his composure to plot his way around the parkland course in 37 gross points. The gross stableford scoring system in use allowed O’Keeffe to recover quickly after the 5th, he hit a 320 yard bomb on the next hole and he went on to beat par by one shot. Gross stableford gives one point for a bogey, two for a par, three for a birdie and so on.
This year the format for the Alliance has changed, there are four qualifying rounds in Dromoland and the top two scores will count. The top eight qualifiers will go forward to a matchplay shootout. The second round takes place on Sunday next and any interested in playing should contact 061 368444.
Mid West Alliance 1st Round, Dromoland
37: Peter O’Keeffe (Douglas), David Reddan Jnr (Nenagh), Andrew McCormack (Castletroy)
36: Eddie McCormack (Galway Bay)
35: Joe Lyons (Galway)
33: Nicky Duggan (Dromoland), Donncadh Nagle (Dromoland), Bob Loftus (Lahinch) Tony Cleary (Woodstock)
Butler, McCormack & O’Keeffe earn Munster places
Cathal Butler pictured with the Fota Island Senior Scratch Cup.
There are three new picks on the 2016 Munster team, as Captain Phil Cooney plots to win this third interprovincial title in five years as captain.
Newly capped Cathal Butler jointly topped the order of merit, and the Kinsale man is one of three members of the team joining the team. His order of merit placing was predominantly down to his performance in winning the Munster Strokeplay in May, but also his performances in the East of Ireland and the Irish Amateur Open added valuable points. Butler has spent the winter working with the Harrington Scholars golf programme in Maynooth University where he is also a full time student.
As well as access to top level training and fitness programmes, Cathal also played in the competitive Hilary Golf Society outings in Dublin through the winter. He’s also a member of the Irish Mens development squad and Butler is just back after competing for Ireland in the World University Championships in Brive. Butler also beat a top class field in Fota Island in March to win the Senior Scratch Cup which bodes well as the inter-pro’s are being held on the same Deerpark course.
Andrew McCormack from Castletroy was also an Continue reading
Order of Merit Race Heats Up
Gary O’Flaherty
Gary O’Flaherty’s performances in Castletroy, Cork and Ballybunion this month will have moved him up the Munster Senior Order of Merit. There are four automatic places in the team from the Order of Merit, and three of them look like going to Cathal Butler, Andrew McCormack and Gary O’Flaherty. Mark Shanahan, John Hickey and James Sugrue are all battling for the last automatic place, as are Waterford duo Eanna Griffin and Robin Dawson. There are plenty of points on offer over the coming weeks. The East of Ireland takes place next week and the Tralee Scratch Cup, the Connacht Strokeplay and the British Amateur all take place in June. Captain Phil Cooney will have a tough job selecting his four picks as all of the above along with Pat Murray, Ian O’Rourke, Peter O’Keeffe and Continue reading
Gallery: Munster Strokeplay Final Round
Pictures from the 4th round at Cork Golf Club: Continue reading
McCormack wins Douglas Senior Scratch Cup
Andrew McCormack (Castletroy)
Andrew McCormack stormed to his first senior scratch cup win today as he shot two rounds in the 60’s to run away from the field. The Castletroy golfer’s 69,68 proved to be five shots better than the field and he scooped top prize. McCormack was third in Muskerry and second in Lee Valley last week so he’s the form golfer in Munster at the moment. McCormack has three bogeys over the 36 holes, but the ten birdies more than compensated. It was a 1-2 for Castletroy as Continue reading
Gallery: Douglas Senior Scratch Cup 2016, sponsored by Kieran Canty Financial Services
Pictures from today’s action in Douglas: Continue reading
Gallery: EMC Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup Final Round
Pictures from the early play at Lee Valley: Continue reading
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