John Dooley presenting first prize to Dan Sugrue in Cork Golf Club
Dan Sugrue struck again, winning the Munster PGA Winter Series singles in Cork Golf Club with a fine 67 in fine conditions. This is Dan’s fourth win of the season, and it means he has extended his clear lead in the Winter Series Order of Merit. After a steady start where he parred the opening five holes, the man from Dooks birdied the 6th and 8th, although he gave a shot back on the 9th to turn on -1. An eagle on the 11th got him going again and two more birdies on the 15th and 17th saw him sign for a five under par round of 67. David Ryan, who generally features on a course he knows very well, opened brightly and he was three under through six holes. While he dropped shots on the 9th and the 10th, he had another three birdies on the back nine which saw him finish on 68 (-4). Gary Howie was the only other player to break par, he took third place with a 70 while Jack Howard and Ted Higgins were tied Continue reading
Tim Rice won his second Munster PGA event of the season when he shot a five under par 67 in Killarney today. Rice knocked in six birdies in an impressive round on Mahonys Point. Close to 30 PGA Professionals played in the event, which was sponsored by John Caulfield from TaylorMade. The scoring was very impressive with 11 golfers shooting par or better. Cian McNamara took second place with and Fota Island’s Jack Howard picked up his first prize as a pro, he shot a 69 to finish tied for 3rd place. Lahinch’s Donal McSweeney was fifth with a two under par 70. The over 45 prize went to David Whyte while the team prize was won by Tin Rice, Alan O’Meara, Jamie O’Sullivan and David Whyte.
Mahony’s Point was in great condition and Munster PGA Captain Cian McNamara thanked Cormac Flannery and David Keating for their help with another great outing. Killeen is currently undergoing some work as a new green is being constructed on the iconic first hole. The new green brings the water into play for the second shot and a large proportion of the work has been completed with an opening due for early next year. The Captain also passed on his best wishes Danny Sugrue, the Dooks professional underwent major surgery last week for an ongoing condition and everyone was delighted to hear that he’s making a good recovery.
David Higgins retained his PGA Irish Club Professional title in Dromoland today. The Waterville man shot a second successive 70 to win by three and ahead of a three way tie for second which included Colm Moriarty, Brian McElhinney and Richard Kilpatrick. Higgins had a steady round one birdie on the front nine was balanced by a bogey on the back nine as he eased to his first Irish Region win of the new season.
David Ryan and David Higgins came out on top on a glorious day in Monkstown today as the annual Morgan O’Donovan Perpetual Trophy competition took place. Both players shot an impressive 67 and although the sun was out the combination of a hard wind blowing and fast greens meant that only a few golfers managed to break par. The competition is now in it’s fifth year and commemorates Morgan O’Donovan who was Head Professional in Monkstown before his death in 2012. The competition today was sponsored by Ping and the pro-am format saw plenty of Munster PGA Professionals take the opportunity to get out and play with an amateur partner.
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 
David Ryan (Cahir Park) and David Foley (Dromoland Castle) came joint top in Dooks today in the first outing of the Munster PGA Winter Series. The two David’s were the only golfers to finish under par, shooting an impressive 70 in cool windy conditions. The pair had a four shot cushion over the field. Dooks was in great condition for the Ping sponsored event which attracted PGA professionals from all over the province. Third prize was shared between Limerick’s Tim Rice and Tralee’s John Sugrue after they both finished with a 74. Rice will miss the next outing as he’ll be in Tarragona, Spain hoping to earn a place at final qualifying for then European Tour. Rice qualified for the second qualifying stage last month, and will be hoping for another good performance there. Monkstown’s Cian McNamara and his amateur partner Alec O’Donnell took the pro-am prize.
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.