Davey Barry

Super 68 from Davey Barry at Irish PGA Championship

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Davey Barry pictured on the range at Douglas Golf Club.Picture: Niall O'Shea

Davey Barry pictured on the range at Douglas Golf Club. Picture: Niall O’Shea

Davey Barry jumped into contention at the Irish PGA Championship in Bunclody, a second round 68 saw him move 15 places on the leaderboard into a tie for third place.  Barry went out in a level par 37 after two birdies and two bogies.  A birdie on the 10th started his back nine nicely, and he went on the have three more to sign for a four under par 68.  Added to his opening 74, he’s now on two under, five shots off the lead.  And the change in form had a lot to do with a new putter according to the Douglas GC Professional.  “I spent an hour on the putting green last night with a new putter, and it worked pretty well.  I also hit 16 greens so that also helped” said a delighted Davey.  “I played well yesterday but the putting was off.  Today was much better though.”  Barry’s 68 was one of only three scores in the 60’s.

Cian McNamara is in 20th place with Padraig Dooley and Jack Howard Continue reading →

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Close Call for Howard at Irish Open Qualifier

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Jack Howard (Fota Island)

Jack Howard (Fota Island)

Jack Howard came agonisingly close to a spot in Lahinch this week, the Fota Island golfer was just one shot away from making the Irish Open field.  Playing alongside 130 of Ireland’s top professionals and amateurs in Moy Valley, Howard shot a three under par 69 in his opening round.  Five birdies and two bogies saw him reach the halfway point in fifth place and in with a great shot of claiming one of the four passes to Lahinch.  David Ryan was also in on -3 while Conor Coyne was the next best Cork golfer on level par.  While several golfers completed their first rounds on Sunday morning, the leaders had to wait to start their second rounds.  Although Howard opened with two bogies in Sunday’s second round he recovered before the turn.  A birdie on the 13th and an eagle two on the 15th put him back in a positive position but a bogey on the second last hole meant that he missed out on the playoff by one shot.  A four under total, with two under par rounds is a strong performance, and given the quality of the field Howard’s top ten finish is impressive.  David Ryan carded a second round Continue reading →

Howard runner up in Irish Club Professional at Dromoland

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Jack Howard (Fota Island)Jack Howard finished runner-up in the Irish Club Professional Tournament in Dromoland last week, losing out to Damien McGrane after a play-off.  Howard, representing Fota Island shot a four under par 68 to lead the tournament.  That included important birdies on the 17th and 18th to get into a tie for the lead.  It was in impressive round from Howard in a strong field, and it included seven birdies.  At the end of the round the two leaders were tied on -4, and unlike other PGA events it was on the a play-off.  After halving the first play-off hole, McGrane put the pressure on by hitting the green on the short par four 10th.  When Howard missed his 12 foot birdie attempt the former European Tour winner tapped in or birdie to claim the title.

Davey Barry and Shane Irwin were the next bet placed Cork golfers, they both carded one par rounds of 73 to get a top ten place, while Cian McNamara and David Ryan were three back in a share for 24th place.

While Jack will be disappointed at missing out on the win, there are several positives.  As well as the prize money for second place, the high placed finish means that the 22 year old will now be able to enter several of the high profile events as the Irish Continue reading →

Busy Times at Douglas Pro Shop

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Douglas Pro Shop Feb 2019_2

Stephen Hayes and Shane Livesey

There’s quite a bit going on in Douglas Golf Club at the moment, from new members to course developments, and changes to personnel it’s a busy place.  The Pro Shop run by club professional Stephen Hayes is also a busy spot with a new member of staff and a new teaching facility now up and running.  Stephen, who has been the Club Professional in Douglas since 2010 had a fitting bay at the range for several years until the extreme weather got the better of it.  “Unfortunately the old bay got blown down in Storm Ophelia in late 2017” explained Stephen.  “I had built this teaching bay with my brother in law and Dad when I was Club Professional in Kilkea Castle in 2009.  We had it loaded onto lorry in 2010 and transported to Douglas when I took up position so it’s fair to say it served me well for nine years.  The new teaching/fitting bay is addition to the indoor bay.  The new bay has Continue reading →

Another Monday, another win for Danny. Munster PGA

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MPGA Castlemartyr Nov2018_1Dan Sugrue made it three from three in Castlemartyr on Monday when he won the third Munster PGA outing of the 2018 Winter Series.  In fact it was a double for Sugrue as he teamed up with his brother John and Tim Rice to claim the team prize. Sugrue had a flawless front nine of 32 with birdies on 4,6,8 and 9.  He had a further birdie 2 on 12 followed by his only drop shot on 13 – his first in 49 holes of competitive golf.  His final birdie came on 15 for an inward 35.

David Barry started with 3 birdies in the first four, he bogeyed 7 and 11 but birdied 17. Tim Rice birdie 3,7 and 8 to turn in 33, he had a lone bogey on 10 and finished with 8 pars.  Cormac Flannery birdied the first, bogeyed 3, he doubled the 5th which included a 2 stroke penalty for playing from the wrong tee but he finished the front nine strongly by eagling the 8th and birdieing 9.  He birdied 12 and 13 with his lone bogey on the back nine coming on the 16th.  Dan Sugrue, John Sugrue and Tim Rice had thirteen birdies between them to win the team event by three points.  The event was hosted by Castlemartyr’s PGA Professional Alan Gleeson.

Munster PGA Winter Series, Castlemartyr Links

Singles
1st – Dan Sugrue – Dooks GC 67
T2nd – David Barry – Douglas GC 70
T2nd – Tim Continue reading →

McNamara through to DDF Irish Open

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Cian McNamara_Monkstown Golf Club_Sept 2017

Monkstown’s Cian McNamara pictured at his custom fitting bay at the range in Monkstown Golf Club. Picture: Niall O’Shea

Cian McNamara booked his place in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open this week with a dramatic playoff win this evening in Rosapenna.  The Monkstown professional was tied for fourth place after the opening round, and at the end of 36 holes he was tied with tour professional Kevin Phelan for the fourth and final qualifying place.  It was the Limerick native who won through in the play-off.  After halving the first playoff hole, Phelan’s approach to the second found the rough and two putts meant that he carded a five.  McNamara was on in two with around 30 feet for birdie.  He rolled his birdie putt up to less than two feet and tapped in the par to win the final place.  He now faces a tough decision on whether to travel to St Anne’s Old Links on Tuesday for final qualifying for the Open Championship in what’s sure to be a busy week.

Simon Thornton won the event and claimed the top prize of €6,000 a well as a Continue reading →

More to do for Cork crew in Rosapenna

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Cian McNamara_1Cian McNamara and James Sugrue have a solid chance of making the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open after the opening round of the Rosapenna qualifier. McNamara shot a three under par round of 69 to lie in 4th place at the halfway stage.  After a bogey on the 5th he came back in four under par, with a final birdie on the 17th to get himself back into contention.  James Sugrue is two shots back on -1, and currently in 10th place.  Sugrue had an interesting round, made up of seven birdies and six bodies.  irrespective of what happens tomorrow both golfers will travel to the UK from Donegal to take part in final qualifying for the British Open.

Jack Howard is tied for 15th on +1, Davey Barry and Padraig Dooley are both tied for 25th place after rounds of 75 (+3).  Given that the best scores today were -5 it’s unlikely that Continue reading →

Davey on track in Douglas

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Davey Barry pictured on the range at Douglas Golf Club. Picture: Niall O'SheaWhile there are thousands of Cork people who have just completed exams, it was a different time for Davey Barry as he got word that he had passed his final PGA exams, meaning he has now a qualified teaching professional.  The Douglas based Pro had been working hard for the past three years, combining work in the pro shop with his studies, but Davey is delighted that he now joins the PGA as a full member.  “It’s fantastic to have finished the course. It’s a lot of work and long hours but it’s a great feeling to have gotten here” said Davey.  “It was a long journey for me, I had to do some extra exams before I started the course, it was well worth it though.  This is something that I’ve always wanted to do since I was young, and it’s a career that can Continue reading →

Top Ten for Davey in Derry

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Golf_Davey Barry_2 2016

 Davey Barry

Davey Barry was in the top ten at the 36 hole Waled City of Derry pro-am over the weekend.  Davey shot a two under par 69 to finish on three under in a tie for 7th place.It’s Davey’s first top ten since May although the busy Douglas professional has been playing on a reduced schedule.  Davey has been a busy man this year, he completed his PGA studies earlier this year and he’s been busy coaching and teaching in Douglas over the past three months.  He’s made the cut in all 14 events that he has play in, and has earned prize money in nine events.

It has been a quiet year for Cork golfers, Michael Collins and Wayne O’Callaghan cut back their schedule in 2016 and this year both Cian McNamara and David Ryan have also reduced their number of events.  Davey will be back in action next week in the St Margaret’s and then it’s on to Rosslare where he’ll defend the title he won last year.  After that the PGA season will start to wind down, the last pro-ams on the schedule are Lutrellstown, Tulfarris and Galway Bay with the season closing with the €20,000 Connemara pro-am in late September.

Damien McGrane continues to lead the PGA Irish Region Order of Merit, the Wexford based professional has a sizeable lead over David Higgins and looks likely to win the Order of Merit at this stage.  Simon Thornton is in third place and David Ryan is the best placed Cork golfer in 15th place.

 

 

McNamara on form, Irish PGA Championship Pro-Am

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Monkstown PGA Professional Cian McNamara pictured with PGA Tour member Seamus Power on a visit to Monkstown Golf Club. Picture: Niall O’Shea

Monkstown’s Cian McNamara was tied second in today’s Irish PGA Championship Pro-Am in Moyvalley.  McNamara has been improving steadily in the early part of the season, last week he carded a final round 69 in the PGA Professional Championship to claim 6th place.  The event was held in Lutrellstown Castle which featured 150 PGA professionals from all over the UK and Ireland.

Today he followed up with another solid round in Moyvalley in the pro-am on the eve of the the 72 hole Irish PGA Championship.  The Limerick native was second, two shots off the lead set by David Higgins.

Moyvalley is a course that McNamara likes, he finished in the top ten last year and he’ll be hoping to challenge at the top of the leaderboard and add his name to the famous trophy.  Davey Barry (Douglas) also finished in the top Continue reading →