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 Continue reading
James Sugrue
Murphy & Sugrue best placed in East of Ireland
John Murphy, Credit: Tristan Jones
John Murphy and James Sugrue were the best placed Cork finishers in the East of Ireland which concluded on Monday. Murphy ended up claiming a spot in the top ten, finishing in a tie for 6th place on +2. Murphy birdied the last to sign for a 73 and continues a good run of form. Like many other Cork and Munster golfers he’ll now head for Tralee for the Kerry Scratch Cup which takes place this weekend. With more Munster Order of Merit points on offer the competition for places on the Munster interprovincial team is heating up. Janes Sugrue closed with a two over par 74 today but signed for a very impressive 69 yesterday. The Mallow man tied the low round of the day with five birdies and two bogies which saw him jump up on the field. The winner was Reece Black from Hilton Templepatrick who blew the Continue reading
Hickey & O’Flaherty lead Cork charge at East of Ireland
John Hickey
John Hickey shot a two under par 70 in Baltray this morning to finish the first round in 5th place. A steady round saw Hickey turn on -2 after two birdies. He added a third bridie on the 14th but bogied the par three 15th immediately after that. Two more pars followed and he signed for a 70 which is just one shot off the lead set but a group of four golfers. Gary O’Flaherty returned to competitive golf after a short break and he went round the Co Louth links in a very respectable 71 strokes. Like his Cork Golf Club partner Hickey, Gary also had a very tidy round. Two birdies, one bogey and fifteen pars made up the card that saw him tie for ninth place just two shots away from the leading bunch. The fourway tie Continue reading
Sugrue wins in Castletroy, Bank of Ireland Castletroy Scratch Cup
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.
Sugrue was just two shots off the first round lead at lunchtime. Castletroy’s John Hadnett shot a two under par 70 to hold the lead. Dean McMahon and Paul Tobin were in on 71 and Sugrue was in a group on 72.
Needless to say Sugure was delighted with his win and a credits a recent equipment change to his success. “I changed back to my old putter last week and I think that’s made a real difference” said a happy winner. “The course was in great shape, the greens were very nice and the course did suit me. There were a lot of two irons off the tees today.” The Bank of Ireland sponsored competition is one of the Continue reading
O’Keeffe and Murphy in contention in RCD, Flogas Irish Amateur Open
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 Continue reading
O’Keeffe leads Cork challenge at Irish Amateur Open
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.
Turner leads in Ballykisteen, Great National Hotels Irish Masters R2
Ian O’Rourke is the next best Cork golfer but there’s a gap of over 50 players between him and O’Keeffe. The Cobh native had been going well, he was two under to the 14th but dropped five shots in the closing holes. That included a triple on the 15th which saw it’s fair share of bogies, doubles and triples on the opening day. Kinsale’s John Murphy is one shot back from O’Rourke on +4, his card featured four birdies and nine pars but the four bogies, a double and a triple took the gloss from his debut round at the Irish Amateur. Cathal Butler (+6) and James Sugrue (+9) will hoping for an improvement tomorrow.
Scoring: Flogas Irish Amateur Open
Play in the second round gets underway at 7.00am when Ian O’Rourke will lead the field of 144 golfers. Live scoring updates are available from Golfnet.
Gallery: Dell EMC Lee Valley SSC, Round 3 (2)
Pictures from Lee Valley on Sunday afternoon: Continue reading
McCormack & O’Donovan tied for the lead in Lee Valley
Andrew McCormack
After a superb day for golf, Andrew McCormack and Dave O’Donovan are tied for the lead on four under par. O’Donovan was level par for his second round, adding to his earlier 68 while McCormack shot 69/71. The Castletroy member clawed a shot back from O’Donovan this afternoon to tie for the lead. Gary O’Flaherty is one shot off the leaders, he also shot level par this afternoon after a 69 this morning.
Bandon’s Donal O’Donovan had a very impressive 70 this afternoon, he’s in fourth place on 143. Peter O’Keeffe is next on 144 after two level par rounds, and Mallow’s James Sugrue is also on 144. John Murphy, Joe O’Sullivan and Eanna Griffin are all on 145, all three have a chance tomorrow but they will need to go low to catch and the beat the leaders. The cut (top 30) fell at 150, two shots better than last year which is no surprise given the Continue reading
Desmond through to Matchplay in West of Ireland
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.
Desmond was the only Cork qualifier in a very narrow field that saw just three Cork golfers get into the tournament. James Sugrue finished 20 places outside the matchplay cut while Kinsale’s John Murphy had a tough debut with rounds of 79 and 77. Conor O’Rourke secured the Silver Medal as the best qualifier on -2, while just two others managed to break par. Three days of matchplay golf follow as all 64 qualifiers will have hopes of winning the season’s first major event.
West of Ireland Matchplay Live Scoring
Butler moves up to second place at Lahinch, Inter-Varsity Championship Day 2.
Cathal Butler (Maynooth) added a second 69 today at round two of the inter-varsities in Lahinch, and he no in second place just two shots off the lead. Munster Youths winner Jack McDonnell is the leader on -8 after recording a 67 in his second round. First round leader Kyle McCarron shot a 72 which sees him remain in second place level with Butler.
John Hickey (CIT) shot one of the low rounds of the day with a 68. The Cork GC Barton Shield member had a flawless four under par round with birdies on the 4th, 5th and 9th, and he added a fourth on the 12th. The round saw Hickey jump back into the top ten. James Sugrue added a level par 72 to his opening 71 and he’s in 15th place going into the final round. Adam McSweeney (CIT) dropped back today after a 76, he’s on +1 in a tie for 18th place.
Golffile.ie Intervarsity Championship Day 2 Gallery
Kieran Lynch (Maynooth) just make the cut on +4 but John Murphy (Maynooth) was one shot outside it on +5. Timmy Broderick, John Boylan and Conor Roche were also among the golfers to miss the cut. In the ladies competition, Paula Walsh missed the cut after an 82 in the second round.
Cork Golf News 