Cian McNamara won the Premium Golf Brands Order of Merit on Monday as the Munster PGA winter series drew to a close. The Morgan O’Donovan Perpetual Trophy hosted by Monkstown marked the final event in the weather affected winter series. McNamara finished in third place on day but that was enough to pip his friend David Ryan for the title. McNamara won earlier this year in Adare, on the day that the course closed before a major redevelopment project got underway. He placed in Castlemartyr, Monkstown and Fota Island to stay on top of the leaderboard. The PGB Order of Merit Continue reading
David Ryan
Higgins retains Morgan O’Donovan Perpetual Trophy
David Higgins pictures with Stephen Hayes
Congrats to David Higgins who won the Morgan O’Donovan Perpetual Trophy in Monkstown today. The Waterville golfer shot an amazing 62 to win the title by 6 shots. David Ryan was second and Cian McNamara took third place.
Monkstown was in great condition today, with the greens in particular Continue reading
Higgins wins Munster PGA event in Castlemartyr
Munster PGA Captain David O’Sullivan presenting David Higgins with first prize after the Munster PGA event in Castlemartyr on Monday.
David Higgins (Waterville) was the only golfer to break 70 at the Munster PGA Winter Series event in Castlemartyr today. The Kerryman won his first event of the 15/16 series and is now in with a strong shout for the order or merit title with events in Waterville and Monkstown left on the schedule.
David recorded birdies on the 3rd and 4th holes on the front nine and the 1 Continue reading
2015 Review of the Year – Part 1
January
2015 started with the sad news of the closure of Frankfield Golf Course. The nine hole track existed on an elevates site on the southside of the city for over 30 years since Mick Ryan Snr laid out the course. It must have been an emotive decision for the Ryan family, especially given that they live and work onsite. The Ryan’s retained the very busy driving range and announced plans to extend and develop the practice facilities. While there were many disappointed members, they all had several options to continue their golf with every other Cork club offering membership options. PGA Professionals David Whyte and Michael Ryan are both based at the city venue and it proved to be a busy place throughout 2015.
Joint winners Munster PGA Wilson Singles at Cork GC David Ruddy and David Ryan pictured Liam Burns, Munster PGA Captain and Peter Hickey, Cork GC. Picture: Niall O’Shea
On the course, the Munster PGA were one of the few groups to be playing competitive golf. David Ryan used local knowledge to win the Wilson sponsored competition in Cork Golf Club. He shot a three under par round to finish ahead of popular Bandon veteran Continue reading
Super 63 from Ryan to win Munster PGA Opener
Munster PGA Captain David O’Sullivan presenting the winners prize to David Ryan who shot a 63 at the opening PGB Munster PGA event. The comeptition was held at Fota Island Resort and was sponsoted by Titleist & Footjoy. Also included is Stephen Hayes, Munster PGA.
Cahir Park’s David Ryan shot a sensational eight under par 63 to win the first PGB Winter Series event at Fota Island Resort. The event was in the new pro-am format and was sponsored by Titleist & Footjoy. Marian Riordan and Davey Barry were tied in second place on 69 and Tim Rice shot a 70 to take fourth place. Killarney’s Dan Sugrue was fifth with a level par 71 while newcomer Conor Coyne was among those tied for 6th place in his first PGA event.
Unsurprisingly David Ryan also took the pro-am prize, he partnered with his Dad Ellis to score a winning 46 points. Marian Riordan and Colm Riordan were second with 44 points. Tommy Higgins won the amateur category with 41 points. David O’Donovan and Colm Riordan were tied for second with 39 points. The next PGB winter series event will take place in Killarney Golf Club on Monday 30th November and this will also be a Continue reading
Four Cork Golfers through in Irish PGA Championship
David Ryan shot a very impressive five under par 67 in Dundalk Golf Club yesterday to jump up to fourth place at the Irish PGA Championship.
Irish PGA Championship Leaderboard
The second round was completed this morning and four Cork golfers have made it through to the third round. Monkstown duo Cian McNamara and Graeme Dunlea both finished in the top 20 with two rounds left to play, but they are 14 shots off the lead set by Niall Kearney. The defending champion has an eight shot lead over the field and is in a very . Davey Barry (Douglas) also had a great second round, he need a good round after an opening 77, and he responded with a 70 in the weather delayed second round. Padraig Dooley was unlucky to miss the cut, a bogey on the 18th cost him a place for the weekend. The third round continues today.
Ryan leading Cork charge in Connemara Pro-Am
David Ryan (Cahir Park) is the leading Cork professional after round one of the Connemara Pro-Am today. Ryan was one of three Cork golfers to shoot under par, he recorded -2 for his round to lie in second place behind Neil O’Briain (Old Conna) on -5. Monkstown duo Cian McNamara and Graeme Dunlea were one shot behind on -1 and in a tie for 5th place. Fernhill’s Wayne O’Callaghan shot a level par round for a share of 12th place and he too is in with a shot going into tomorrow’s final round.
Ryan had an uneventful front nine, in fact he carded 10 consecutive pars before he birdied the 11th. He added birdies on the 14th and the 17th but he Continue reading
Ryan and Ruddy Win in Cork
The Munster PGA held their first event of 2015 this week when the Wilson Golf Singles took place in Cork GC on Monday. Despite heavy rain on Sunday night, the sun was out on Monday morning for the competition. 16 holes were in play and the scoring was keen even though the course was playing long. Despite the weather there was a full timesheet with the winter series again proving popular with PGA professionals from all over the province. David Ruddy and David Ryan took the honours as they both finished on three under par. Continue reading
Promising Start for Cork Professionals, PGA Irish Region
Promising Start for Cork Professionals
By Niall O’Shea
The PGA Irish Region kicked off their 2014 Pro-Am schedule today with Greystones hosting the first pro-am of the year. Monkstown’s Cian McNamara was one of the early starters and he posted a two under par 67 to take the club house lead. Despite posting a bogey on the 4th hole, McNamara recovered immediately with a birdie. He added further birdies on the 9th and 12th, and parred his way home to become the clubhouse leader. He was ultimately beaten by Danny Sugrue and John Kelly, both golfers returned 66’s from their afternoon rounds. Continue reading
Ryan Wins on the Double
David Ryan took the honours in Fota on Monday as the Munster PGA Professionals battled tough conditions. Almost 30 golfers took to the course and while the weather was cold and wet, Fota was in great condition given the recent winds and rain. Ryan was the only golfer to finish under par as he recorded a 69. This was Ryan’s second win in a row as he also took the honours when they played in Dungarvan two weeks ago. John McHenry was fresh from his Seniors qualifying round in Portugal as he finished tied for second place with a 74, Castlemartyr’s Brady Sherwood also finishing on the same score. Sherwood was not doubt trying to emulate his compatriot Jason Day’s feats in Arizona but came up a few shots short. Padraig Dooley was fourth with a 75, and Killarney’s Danny Sugrue secured a top six spot with a 77. Sugrue maintains his position at the top of the order of merit. Monkstown’s cian McNamara is in second place and David Ryan is a close third. The PGA Winter League continues and will conclude in late March with Monkstown hosting the Morgan O’Donovan trophy.
The GUI annual delegates meeting took place recently and two Munster motions were carried. Castletroy’s motion limiting “point one” increases to only those golfers who complete a round was passed at national level and will now be put forward to CONGU. Limerick Golf Club’s proposal to limit the maximum number of point one increments to 20 in a single year was also passed. Both motions will now go on to CONGU where the GUI will propose the changes. At the provincial ADM’s the hope was that both changes would be effective from 2015, however time will tell as the current CONGU rules fare due to run until the end of 2015.
The most contentious motion at the provincial meetings was Leinster’s motion to require golfer to have three home qualifying scores to compete in away competitions. There was a perceived issue that many golfers were using away handicaps without ever playing at their home course. The motion was passed by a narrow majority at the Munster meeting and the GUI must now decide on how this rule will be implemented by clubs. The golfing season will finally start this weekend after two months of inclement weather. The first round of the south east league takes place this weekend with ten teams taking part in the annual Bruen and Purcell warm up compeititon.
Cork Golf News 