David Howard
It started with over 300 golfers, but by 5pm this afternoon there was just one left. David Howard added his name to a famous list of winners at the 50th staging of the famous Ford Junior Scratch Trophy. And in a funny quirk of the draw, the Fota Island golfer beat his dad John in a tight final to win the six round matchplay event. It was a strange setting, having the father and son paired against each other, but some high quality golf from both made for a competitive final, with David coming out on top. The teenager went up a few times in the match only to be pegged back by his Dad. The back nine was decisive with David winning the 13th and 16th to go two up. On the testing 17th, David found the green with a drive an nine iron, and when John couldn’t make birdie the match was over with David coming out on top. Needless to say the 19 year old was delighted with the win. “I’m very happy to win this scratch cup which has such a big name to it, it’s a Continue reading
Donal McDonnell was the winner on Sunday, picking up his first Senior Scratch Cup title. Fota Island held their annual showpiece on Sunday, again in association with Top Golfer. There was a full timesheet for the event on the Deerpark course, and the three time Irish Open venue proved itself yet again as nobody could break par. Although the course was in great condition, it did play all of it’s 6,927 yards. Donal McDonnell from Monkstown was the winner after four players tied on 73. McDonnell took the title ahead of John O’Brien (Castlemartyr), Kieran Kennedy (Thurles) and David Howard (Fota Island). The Monkstown golfer is a regular on Monkstown’s successful Senior Cup team and has a provincial winners medal, Donal is also Junior Officer in Monkstown. This was his first senior scratch cup title and needless to say he was delighted with his win. Although he was four over par at the turn, McDonnell put together a great back nine. He shot two under for the second nine, and finished 3,3,4 which was crucial in terms of his placing for the countback. Although the top four were tied, John O’Brien took second place, Kennedy was third and David Howard was fourth. Howard had a busy weekend, on Saturday the four handicapper shot a 75 in Muskerry in the Ford Junior Scratch Trophy qualifier, and on Sunday he beat his handicap by two when he shot the 73. Anyone looking to play Fota this week can take advantage of their Masters Week specials, full details are available from the pro shop.
He might only be there since the start of 2017, however Ronan Collins has been busy heading up the Fota Island Academy’s new custom-fitting programme. Ronan’s appointment was just one step on a journey to refresh what was on offer from the tour standard teaching and practice facility. After upgrading their Trackman launch monitor systems, the Academy brought in club fitting systems from all of the major manufacturers. The Academy is now a one stop shop for any golfer looking to examine their game. Having launch the Academy in 2006, Fota Island reinvested in their teaching bays, and upgraded their analysis tools to incorporate the latest Trackman technology. The new Trackman 4 system can be used in the specialised indoor fitting bays or on the range, and also includes the putting analysis software making it an essential resource for the five-star resort. Ronan is a seasoned PGA Professional and is ideally placed to analyse and advise golfers having worked directly for Callaway as a 