Cathal Butler shot a course record 64 in Newlands today and catapulted himself into a share of the lead going into tomorrow’s final round of the Leinster Students Championship. Butler made the most of the benign conditions on day two, and he eagled the par five 2nd hole to set the tone. He added two more birdies on the front nine to go out in 31 strokes (-4). Three more birdies followed on the back nine and although he failed to birdie the short par five final hole, the Maynooth student did enough to claim a course record.
John Murphy was also in good form, shooting a 67 on day two. It was a bit more complicated for Murphy as three early birdies were cancelled out by three bogies on the front nine. Murphy hit the reset button and reeled off four consecutive birdies starting at the par three 12th. He couldn’t add to that on the 18th but the -4 return see’s him tied for the lead alongside Butler. Ben Murray (UCC) is the third man on -3, he shot a 68 to move from third place to tie the lead. Mallow’s James Sugrue is in 4th place two shots behind the leading trio, Sugrue was also in the 60’s with a two under par 69 to get to -1. Monkstown’s Sean Desmond also shot a 69 to get to back to +2 and a share of 9th place. Gary Ward had a 12 shot swing on day two, he had a 68 today after a disappointing 80 in yesterday’s testing conditions.
The man of the day was Butler though and after a few months of poor results the Kinsale golfer is back in the groove. “My swing felt really good today, it felt good yesterday as well only that it was very blustery” said the Kinsale man after the great round. “There were a lot of gusts and it was very tricky, and I didn’t get rewarded for the good shots. But today it was flat calm and it was pretty much target golf out there. I’ve did quite a lot of work on my swing with Paul Kiely in the past few months so it’s finally starting to come together.” And it wasn’t case of protecting a score as Butler kept on giving himself solid birdie chances. “I drove the ball really well today, and I’ve learned that when I’m playing well to put the boot down and keep going for birdies. I hit my only bad drive of the day on the 18th, I went into the trees but recovered and wedged on to eight feet. I hit the birdie putt around two feet past but overall I’m delighted with the round. There were great scores too from Gary [Ward] and John [Murphy] so hopefully there will be plenty more birdies for the Kinsale lads. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow, hopefully there will be more good weather and a few more birdies.”
139 C BUTLER (Maynooth Scholars (a)), 75, 64; J MURPHY (Kinsale), 72, 67; B MURRAY (University College Cork), 71, 68
James Sugrue and John Murphy both recorded rounds of 72 to lie two shots behind the leader after the first round of the Leinster Students Championship today. The dry but windy day in Newlands was a welcome change for both, they had played in Kerry Scratch Cup in Tralee over the weekend and had endured driving wind and rain for much of the 54 holes. Sugrue and Murphy had near identical rounds in the tight parkland layout, four birdies and five bogies added up to a +1 result for the opening round. They are two shots behind leader Ross Dutton (Ulster University). Waterford Duo Ben Murray and Eanna Griffin are tied for second place on level par. Griffin travelled from Athenry where he won the Connacht 
James Sugrue captured the Bank of Ireland Castletroy Scratch Cup this afternoon as a second round 69 saw him jump into a winning position. Four birdies and a single bogey meant that the Mallow man signed for a 69 and when added to his morning 72, he finished three shots clear of the field. David Reddan and Deam McMahon both finished on level par, with Reddan taking 2nd place on the countback. John Hickey was 6th on 147 and Paul Tobin had another good finish taking the second nett prize. A full field of 75 golfers took to the course for the 36 hole event.
Peter O’Keeffe and John Murphy both sit within touching distance of the lead after solid performances in round two of the Flogas Irish Amateur Open. Royal County Down was firm and bouncy again today but the links proved a challenge as just a dozen golfers broke par at the testing Irish Open venue. O’Keeffe was out this afternoon and he continued in the same form as yesterday with plenty of birdies. Two early bogies didn’t distract the Douglas member, and he got back to level before bogeying the the ninth to turn on +1. Three birdies followed on the back nine but a dropped shot on the 14th meant that he signed for another 70 and is now one off the lead on -2. Sean Towndrow 
Peter O’Keeffe shot a one under par 70 on the opening day of the Flogas Irish Amateur Open. Royal County Down was playing firm and fast today thanks to the recent dry weather and it proved a test for the Irish golfers as only seven made it into the top 25. O’Keeffe started brightly with a birdie on the first but dropped shots on 4 and 8 meant that he turned on +1. There were no more bogies for the Douglas member, and he birdied the 10th and 12th before parring his way home. He’s in a tie for 8th place and three shots off the lead.
Monkstown’s Sean Desmond made it through to the matchplay stage on his debut in the West of Ireland Championship today. Desmond shot a second successive 73 at Co Sligo and finished inside the top twenty. Sean had a colourful card today, five bogies and a double were offset by five birdies on the testing links track. Tomorrow he has a 7.27am start where he’ll face Robert Brazill from Naas.
Cork Golf News 