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
Local knowledge seemed to give two local golfers the edge in Cork today as Padraig Dooley (Drive Golf Performance) and David Ryan (Cahir Park) won the Munster PGA event. Over 20 golfers started out this morning and while there was a cold wind blowing through Little Island, the course was in great condition and surprisingly dry given the heavy rainfall over the weekend. Both golfers trained under Peter Hickey and they returned today to triumph over a field of talented professionals. Both golfers played very steady golf, Ryan was an early starter and had birdies on the 6th, 11th & 12th. The only blemish came on the 17th, but the two under par 70 was enough to get into the winners circle. It was a similar story for Dooley, he also birdied the 6th and the 12th. A bogey on the 14th brought him back to -1 but a birdie on the 17th saw him sign for a 70 and take a share of 
The 106th Irish PGA Championship came to a conclusion today with two Cork golfers in the top 10. Monkstown’s Cian McNamara finished of his tournament in style with a two under par 70. The Limerick native got off to a great start with three birdies on the front nine and another one on he 11th. He bogied the 13th and 16th which pegged him back a little but still stayed in the red and signed for a 70. Davey Barry also rounded off a great week, finishing in a tie for 7th place alongside McNamara. Davey signed for a one over par 73 today but jumped up two places on the leaderboard. Barry was three over par through 11 holes but added two birdies on the way home to get back on track and ensure his top ten finish.
Cian McNamara shot an impressive 73 today in very testing conditions to stay in contention at Moyvalley. High winds hampered golfers all day with the later starters suffering the most. McNamara’s solid round means that he’s in 7th place and just four shots off the lead. David Higgins also carded a 73 and he’s in 12th place. David Barry had one of the best rounds of the afternoon, his two over par 74 has him on +1 for the tournament and in a tie for 15th place.
Cian McNamara followed up his good pro-am performance yesterday with an opening 69 at the first round of the PGA Irish Championship. It was a second successive 69 for the Monkstown professional, with birdies on the 12th, 15th and 16th. He had a steady round of 15 pars to go with the three birdies. Davey Barry is two shots back on -1. He’s tied for 12th place after a round that featured four birdies and three pars. The lead is held by Simon Thornton who is three clear of the field after an opening 69. The 106th staging of the Championship is being hosted by Moyvalley Hotel and Golf Resort.
vey Barry (Douglas Pro-Shop) won his first big event on the PGA Irish Region tour yesterday with a great round in Rosslare. Playing in tough weather conditions the Douglas Assistant Pro won by two shots in the Kelly’s Resort sponsored Rosslare Pro-Am. Barry started well with a run of birdies on the third, fourth and fifth, but he gave two shots back before the turn with bogies on the seventh and ninth. Despite playing the very difficult conditions Davey had a great back nine, he added four birdies including two on 17 and 18 to see him finish two shots clear of Damien McGrane, Mark Murphy and Colm Moriarty. David Ryan shot a two under par 70 to claim fifth position alongside David Higgins, and Wayne O’Callaghan finished in the top twenty. It was a good weekend for Davey who was also named in the field for the Irish PGA Championship which takes place in Moyvalley at the end of this month.
Cork Golf News 