Daniel Hallissey

Byrne claims first NCAA Win

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Sara Byrne has had a good start to her final year in college in Miami. Pic: Niall O’Shea

While there was little in the way of golf in Cork last weekend, there were a few Cork golfers making waves.  Sara Byrne recorded his first NCAA win last week when she came out on top in the Pat Bradley Invitational in Florida.  Byrne opened with a level par 72, but found herself eight shots off the lead after teammate Barbora Bujakova shot a 64.  It didn’t even look like Byrne might match par after a tough start.  She found herself three over par after just five holes thanks to three bogies in a row from the third hole.  Four birdies would follow to get Byrne into the red but a bogey on the second last hole saw her sign for level par.

Day two saw a very different start from Byrne, she dropped six bridies in her opening nine holes to race up the leaderboard.  A level par Continue reading →

Top class field in place for Douglas Senior Scratch Cup

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Douglas is the place to be tomorrow, their Senior Scratch Cup will be the third of four consecutive cups that are taking place in April.  With Muskerry and Lee Valley complete, Douglas and Cork remain in what has proved to be an exciting month for Category 1 golfers in the county and indeed the province.  Eanna Griffin, Andrew McCormack and Shane Hogan lead the golfers that hoping to take the title outside of the county.  Gary O’Flaherty, David O’Donovan, John Hickey and holder Daniel Halliessey lead the local challenge, while Peter O’Keeffe will be representing his home club Douglas and he’s like nothing better than to mare his return to amateur status with his first big win on his own turf.

Golf_Douglas SSC_Daniel Hallissey_May2015_web

2015 winner Daniel Hallissey (Muskerry) pictured with Kieran Canty and  Brian O’Brien, Captain Douglas GC. 

Kieran Canty has been a busy man over the past few weeks, as a committed Douglas member, Kieran is one of the main drivers behind the scratch cup and he’s also sponsoring the event.  Senior Scratch Cups have been a challenge for most clubs over the past 8-10 years.  Limited numbers of entrants, pressure on timesheets, and competition from national and provincial events have all impacted on the perceived importance and prestige of senior scratch cups.  Douglas Continue reading →

Muskerry Aiming for Back to Back Barton Shield Titles

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Action from the AIG Barton Shield Munster Final at Dungarvan Golf Club. Saturday 15th August 2015. Picture: Niall O'Shea

Muskerry after winning the AIG Barton Shield Munster Final at Dungarvan Golf Club. Picture: Niall O’Shea

Muskerry make the almost familiar trip back to Carton House next week with high hopes of creating history with their AIG Barton Shield Team.  Having beaten four teams in South Munster, they racked up another two wins at the Munster finals stage to book their place in the national finals.  Now they are just two matches away from back to back wins in one of golf’s most prestigious national competitions.  They head off to Carton House with a settled team featuring just one change from last year.  The experienced John Waldron has stepped down and that has given an opportunity to someone else to step up and join the winning team.  That opportunity fell to Shane Whooley and the rookie has excelled all year long.  Whooley started the year playing off 2, but had several impressive performances in the early Continue reading →

Muskerry can rise to finals challenge

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The mantle of champions can sometimes place a heavy weight on a side but not so for the Muskerry team.  They’ve taken every opportunity on their path to Carton House and while they had some impressive wins they also had a few close calls.  As hosts in the South Munster qualifier, they had impressive wins over Blarney, Cork and Bandon but they very nearly came unstuck in their second round match against Monkstown.  Monkstown had a put to win the match on the 19th hole and Muskerry were lucky to survive.  They went on to win on the 20th hole and from there they went on to have two impressive wins over Cork and Bandon.

Gallery: Barton Shield Munster Final

AIG Barton Shield & AIG Senior Cup Munster FinalsThe same was true in Dungarvan at the Munster finals.  Muskerry had a seven hole win over Youghal in the semi-final but it took a dramatic 18th green finish to beat Shannon.  With a total of three holes left to play Muskerry were one down and the odds were stacked in favour of Shannon.  As it happened Muskerry were to produce another clutch performance as they went on to win all three remaining holes.  Niall Gorey and David O’Donovan dove-tailed well on the 18th.  O’Donovan had a great drive and Gorey made the par five green with an excellent long range iron over the water.  O’Donovan narrowly missed the 9 foot putt but Continue reading →

Muskerry Retain AIG Barton Shield Munster Title

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Action from the AIG Barton Shield Munster Final at Dungarvan Golf Club. Saturday 15th August 2015. Picture: Niall O'Shea

Action from the AIG Barton Shield Munster Final at Dungarvan Golf Club. Saturday 15th August 2015.
Picture: Niall O’Shea

Muskerry’s Barton Shield team completed phase two of their plan to match last year’s heroics, after winning the competitive South Munster qualifiers, they went on and secured a second successive Munster title last Saturday in Dungarvan.  Now they face a trip back to Carton House next month for the finals of the AIG Cups and Shields, and they have a great chance of retaining the national title.  The experienced side have one change from last year, Shane Whooley has filled the spot held by John Waldron and has slotted into the seamlessly going on his recent performances.  On Saturday morning they faced Youghal in an all Cork clash.  Youghal had come through the East Munster qualifier, and despite Conor Coyne leading the team they couldn’t keep pace with Muskerry and lost by five holes.  Shannon came through on the other side of the draw with an impressive eight hole win over Tralee.  The final was set to be a battle and it was the first of three Munster finals to be decided on Dungarvan’s 18th green.  The match started as a very evenly

Gallery: AIG Barton Shield Munster Final Continue reading →

Hallissey wins Douglas Senior Scratch Cup

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Daniel Hallissey (Muskerry), winner of the Douglas Senior Scratch Cup, sponsored by Kieran Canty Financial Services. Picture: Niall O'Shea

Daniel Hallissey (Muskerry), winner of the Douglas Senior Scratch Cup, sponsored by Kieran Canty Financial Services.
Picture: Niall O’Shea

Muskerry’s Daniel Hallissey scooped the Douglas Senior Scratch Cup on Saturday, thanks to an impressive 69 in his second round.  Hallissey was a member of the very Muskerry’s double All Ireland winning team in 2007 when he won Junior Cup and Jimmy Bruen Shield titles.  He added to that last year he was part of the winning Muskerry Barton Shield team in Carton house, and he now adds his name to the prestigious Douglas Senior Scratch Cup.  After shooting a morning 77, Hallissey added to that with a bogey on the 4th to leave him on +6 after 22 holes.  He bounced back however, birdies on 9, 12, 15 and 18 saw him storm back up the leaderboard. Continue reading →