Pictures from the four matches starting on the front nine this morning: Continue reading
Bandon Golf Club
Gallery: AIG Junior Cup Area Final, East Cork v Bandon
Pictures from Muskerry: Continue reading
East Cork advance in Junior Cup
Shane Connors
East Cork booked their place in the Munster finals of the AIG Junior Cup with a dramatic win in the area final. Muskerry was the venue for the exciting match last week when it hosted the area final of the Junior Cup. Bandon were hoping add a second team to the schedule for the Munster finals, that was after their AIG Senior Cup team qualified for the finals in Tramore the previous week. East Cork were their opponents, the Midleton club came through from the Castlemartyr qualifier but only by the skin of their teeth after winning when the last match went to the 19th hole.
Muskerry was in great condition for the match, and the intense sunshine was welcomed by the large crowd of spectators from both clubs. Area finals in recent times have been tense affairs with matches invariably going down to the last few holes Continue reading
Gallery: AIG Senior Cup Area Final, Bandon v Lee Valley
Pictures from Bandon: Continue reading
Bandon Driving Ahead
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 Continue reading
Gallery: Bandon v Mahon, Jimmy Bruen Shield Area Final
Pictures from Lee Valley : Continue reading
Mahon & Bandon survive Bruen Battle
Mahon and Bandon were the two big winners over the weekend as they came through the first serious weekend of cups and shields action. Monkstown and Blarney were the host venues for the AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield qualifiers, with fine weather and great conditions adding to the spectacle of matchplay golf. All Ireland winners Kinsale were not in the shake up this time, they lost out to Skibbereen in a first round match the previous weekend. Mahon had also come through a preliminary match the previous week, they had a comprehensive win over Mallow in the first round to set up a meeting with Douglas on Saturday morning. Similar to their previous form, Mahon had a good win over Douglas but they faced a stiff challenge again Cork in the third round and two matches would need additional holes for Mahon to advance. Tim O’Mahoney needed to chip out of the water on 18 in order for himself and Gavin Carroll to half the hole. They went on to win on the Continue reading
Monkstown Through in AIG Senior Cup
Monkstown were the first club to book their place in the Munster finals in Thurles, marking the third time in four years that they have reached the finals of the AIG Senior Cup.
16 teams started in Cork Golf Club on Saturday morning, and two rounds later there were just four. Bandon faced Kinsale and Mallow were up against Monkstown this morning. The two semi-finals were close matches, with the Bandon Kinsale derby needing three extra holes to decide the winner. Bandon’s Ger Tobin was the hero as he won the 21st hole to take Bandon through to area final.
For team manager Pat O’Keeffe and his assistant Martin Walsh it marks another successful start to a campaign. Last year the lost at the semi-final stage so there’s no doubt that they’ll appreciate making it through to the Munster finals. This afternoon there were wins for Sean Desmond, Donal McDonnell and Martin Continue reading
Gallery: AIG Senior Cup Area Semi Finals
Action from Cork Golf Club: Continue reading
China Tour Card for Brian O’Donovan
China based golfer Brian O’Donovan made a huge breakthrough yesterday when he won a tour card for the PGA China Tour. Brian was competing in the second qualifying tournament in the PGA backed China tour at the Mission Hills Haikou course. The former Bandon amateur opened on Friday with a 68 for a share of third place, and a solid second round saw him remain in the top five. However a one over par 73 on Saturday saw him drop to 16th, one place outside the qualifying places. After a shaky start on Sunday morning, he steadied and was one over par for his front nine. After hovering around the qualifying mark he birdied the final hole to move to two under par overall and safely inside the top 15. Now armed with a full tour card, Brian will qualify for the series of fourteen events, all based in China with the top five on the tour qualifying for the Web.com tour. There’s a run of six events starting in May with the second half kinking off in late August after a six-week break. The Bandon native was a member of the very successful team from Bandon Golf Club who won the Irish Senior Cup national title in 2010. It was a family affair for the O’Donovan’s, Brian’s Dad Donal was also on that team in Castlebar when they won the most prized team competition in Ireland.
After winning the top team event, Brian decided to pursue a full time career in golf, and enrolled in the PGA programme. Two years of study followed and Brian was based in Douglas Golf Club under Stephen Hayes while studying for his PGA qualification. Brian moved to China soon after qualifying as a PGA Professional in late 2013. While he hoped to remain competitive on the local professional tours, a knees problem ruled him out of competitive action for the best part of a year. He returned to competitive action via the qualifiers for the PGA China Tour events, while also continuing work develop as a teacher in the Mission Hills Golf Academy.
Cork Golf News 