Greg O’Mahony after winning the Douglas Scratch Cup earlier this year
Greg O’Mahony was the only Cork golfer to break par on a tough day in Lahinch today. The Fota Island golfer went around in three under as the wind and rain tested golfers.
A total of eight golfers made the cut for tomorrow’s matchplay. Peter O’Keeffe finished his 36 holes on one under and Sean Desmond was two shots behind. Cork duo Gary O’Flaherty and Paul Buckley were both safely through on +2, and Cathal Butler had to endure a short wait before all of the +4’s were safely inside the top 59. With James Sugrue and John Murphy, there will be a strong Cork challenge tomorrow with eight golfers hoping to make it through the first round.
Gallery: South of Ireland Day 2, strokeplay qualifier second round
Play gets underway at 7am tomorrow, with the second round starting after the completion of the first round matches. Live scoring will be available at regular intervals.
South of Ireland Matchplay Draw
7.00am: James Sugrue v Jack Doherty
7.36am: Peter O’Keeffe v James Fox
7.45am: Paul Buckley v Shane O’Connor
8.48am: John Murphy v Aaron Ryan
10.18am: Greg O’Mahony v Evan Farrell
10.45am: Sean Desmond v Jack Ryan
11.12am: Cathal Butler v Ronan Mullarney
11.21am: Gary O’Flaherty v TJ Ford
Peter O’Keeffe fired himself into a fifth place finish at the East of Ireland, thanks to a three under par 69 in his final round this afternoon.
Walker Cup hopeful James Sugrue is back on the winning trail after romping home in the Castletroy Scratch on Saturday. The Mallow man was named on the Walker Cup training panel earlier this month and his golf continues to do the talking as he finished five strokes clear of a strong field at the end of the 36 hole event. Rounds of 68 ad 71 (-5) saw him clear the field, and with just one bogey in each of the rounds he played some very tidy golf. Second place went to Pat Murray on level par with Harry Duggan (Kilkenny) finishing in third place on +1. Jack Ryan was the best of the home golfers, he took fourth, and it was a special day for Athenry’s Peader O’Beirne. Peader too second nett but also had a hole in one in the competition. It was a welcome win for Sugrue who was laid low with an injury just six weeks ago. The Irish International has been playing well all season. A top 15 finish in Lytham, and a top 20 in the Irish Amateur came after Sugrue had to pull out of the Euro Nations with a rib injury. His performance at the weekend now sends a signal that he’s a contender for a second major to the South title he won in 2017. Sugrue is headed for Leeds this week for the Brabazon Trophy, where the Walker Cup selectors will no doubt be watching the members of their extended training panel.
A birdie three on the last hole was the perfect finish to Cathal Butler’s round in Co Sligo today, as he signed for a 65 after a great second round. Butler, who had a four over par 75 in his opening round, got to work early today and was three under through five holes. He added another two birdies before the turn to go out in 31 (-5). Although he had a few good birdie chances on the back nine he ended up with eight consecutive pars. He did close out on the 18th with a birdie, leaving him on -2 and tied for 20th at the halfway stage. Needless to say the Kinsale golfer was in a positive frame of mind after his round. “It was a relief as much as anything – it feels like a long time since I shot a low one” said Butler after the round. “I was hitting it lovely, I only missed one green and hit a lot of the shots close. The putter was steady throughout and it was nice to hole a long one on 18 to finish.” Butler has been struggling with a back injury for the past while and that has contributed to his lack of recent appearances near the top of the leaderboard. “I’m off around 2pm tomorrow so I’ll get a chance to go to the gym before hand. My back has been troublesome for the past few weeks so I’ll do some exercises before I go out to play.” As for the strategy for tomorrow, it more of the same for Cathal. “I’ll just keep trying to make good decisions and smooth swings. If I can stay as relaxed as I was today it should be another good day.”
