John Murphy gave himself an early birthday present today when he won the St Andrew’s Links Trophy, and there was a little bit of a surprise too as he drained a 25 foot putt on first play-off hole to claim his first major title outside of Ireland. Murphy shot 66 on the Old Course yesterday to hold the 36 hole lead. A 71 this morning had him tied for the lead with one more round on the Old Course to come. John started well, birdies on the 3rd and 4th saw him jump into a two shot lead. He held that lead at the turn but when he dropped a shot on the 13th there was a three way tie for the lead. East of Ireland winner Christo Lamprecht was leading but a on the road hole took him out of contention. Germany’s Jannik de Bruyn shot a 68 to finish on -9. Murphy parred 14 to 17 and he Continue reading
JOhn Murphy
Murphy enjoying Kentucky experience
Kentucky based John Murphy is ready for competitive action later this month as the talented Kinsale golfer prepares to restart his season. The Irish Mens squad member is in his first year in the University of Louisville golf programme and despite an enforced lay-off due to knee surgery he’s really enjoyed the first semester in the US. After moving over to Kentucky in August, it was a slow start for Murphy that ultimately meant minor surgery on a recurrent knee problem. That side-lined John from competitive action but he worked on his rehab plan and will be in contention for a place when the first competition of new year in just a few weeks. The end of the rehab coincided with a return home for a few weeks to catch up with family and friends. “I came back to Ireland on the 14th of December and I was very excited to come back” said Murphy. Christmas didn’t disappoint, I had plenty time to hang out with my friends and family because I would consider myself very Continue reading
Hickey takes top ten spot in Mullingar
John Hickey pictured during the Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup.
Cork’s John Hickey was the best placed Cork golfer at Mullingar over the weekend. Stuart Grehan won the prestigious title with a wire to wire win following two 67’s which saw him hit the halfway point on -10.
An opening 79 on Sunday morning hampered Hickey, and that return featured two triple bogies on his front nine. Hickey recovered with a one under par 71 on Sunday afternoon and another two 71’s followed on Monday. That saw him rise up the leaderboard and eventually finished in 9th place. Hickey will be a key member of the Cork team that will be aiming to retain their AIG Barton Shield Munster title in Tralee this weekend.
Peter O’Keeffe (74/75/74/73) was just inside the top twenty (18th), O’Keeffe is currently preparing for his Irish Senior debut in Moortown next week. James Sugrue and John Murphy both were tied for 24th place, that was likely to be Murphy’s last competitive event in Ireland as he’s moving to Kentucky next week to take up his place with Aaron O’Callaghan’s University of Louisville golf programme. Kinsale duo Gary Ward (T37) and Cathal Butler (T41) both made the cut but Mallow’s Conor Dowling missed the cut for the final day.
O’Keeffe and Sugrue set for South Showdown, South of Ireland Day 4
Today started with five Cork golfers still in contention in Lahinch, however as play came to a close that was reduced to just two. The draw meant that there were two all-Cork clashes this morning, and one more this afternoon. Tomorrow will see another all-Cork match with Peter O’Keeffe taking on James Sugrue.
Peter O’Keeffe marched on to the semi-final of the South of Ireland today, the Irish Open Champion was up against Cathal Butler this morning and beat the Kinsale man on the 17th. This afternoon he was up against Robbie Cannon and again closed out the match on the 17th. O’Keeffe has surely done enough at this stage to secure his place on the Home International side, he’ll be hoping to go further and become the first Cork man to win the South since Mervyn Owens. James Sugrue will be having similar ideas after his two wins today.
James Sugrue was up against Gary O’Flaherty in the other Cork match, Sugrue won that contest on the 16th green. Sugrue faced John Murphy in the quarter-final after Murphy beat Colm Campbell on the 19th. This morning Murphy was three down but birdied the 12th, 13th and 14th to level the match. He had a putt to win on the 18th but the ball refused to drop while resting on the lip. He made no mistake on the 19th however and booked his place in the final eight. On paper, Murphy probably had a slight edge over Sugrue, but it was the Mallow man who won. It was a tight match all the way through with Sugrue one ahead for a few holes on the back nine. Sugrue stretched that the two holes when he won the 16th, giving him the upper hand. A half on the 17th was enough to see Sugrue go through to the semi-final.
In the other semi-final Conor O’Rourke will take on West of Ireland winner Barry Anderson. O’Rourke had a marathon 27 hole match this morning to get past Thomas Mulligan and was taken to the 18th this afternoon by leading qualifier Lester Rowan. Play in Lahinch get’s underway at 8.30 in the morning.
Strong Cork Challenge in Lahinch, South of Ireland Day 3
Weather conditions in Lahinch were slightly better today as the opening two rounds of the matchplay got underway. After two rounds there are still five Cork golfers involved, with two all-Cork clashes set for tomorrow morning.
Kinsale’s Cathal Butler and John Murphy made it through to the third round. Murphy had a two hole win over his Munster team mate Andrew McCormack this afternoon while Butler won on the 18th against Robert Brazill from Naas. Butler will face Peter O’Keeffe in the third round, O’Keeffe had wins today over two Limerick members, Owen O’Brien and Sean Poucher to book his place on the last 16. Gary O’Flaherty will face James Sugrue in the final match tomorrow morning. O’Flaherty needed all 18 holes this morning to beat Keith Murphy while this afternoon he dispatched Stephen Loftus 5&4. Sugrue was the last player left on the course this evening and he wrapped up his match with Darragh Coghlan on the 17th. With eight Cork qualifiers the hopes were high that someone might follow in Mervyn Owens footsteps and claim the prestigious South title. After today there are still five with a chance. Gary Ward won this morning but fell to Colm Campbell in the second round match this afternoon. Two Cork qualifiers lost out in this morning’s first round. Sean Desmond was handed a tough draw when he was put up against Conor O’Rourke from Naas. The form book ruled and Continue reading
Cork’s Top Golfers to challenge in Lahinch
A dozen Cork golfers will be hoping to bridge a 13 year gap and win the South of Ireland Championship this week. Mallow’s Meryvn Owens was the last man to bring the famous trophy back to Cork in 2003, when he beat the holder Colm Moriarty on the 18th green in Lahinch. Cork winners have been few and far between, John McHenry won in 1986 and before that there’s a 22 year gap to W A Kelleher’s win. The statistics would suggest that a few more years should pass before the next Cork winner, but given the strength and depth of the Cork golfers competing this year, don’t rule out a good run from a few of the form golfers.
Irish Amateur Open winner Peter O’Keeffe leads the Cork challenge, and O’Keeffe be hoping to play all seven rounds over the five days that will see him into the final. The big hitting Douglas member is currently playing of +3.3, and he’ll be joined by his friend and Barton Shield teammate Karl Bornemann. Kinsale have three representatives in the field, John Murphy has two wins in the bag this year and will be hoping to gain his first senior title. Cathal Butler won the Munster Strokeplay Continue reading
Gallery: Kinsale Pro Shop Challenge 2017
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No joy for Murphy in Portrush, attention turns to Macroom for Barton Shield
John Murphy had no joy in Portrush yesterday at the North of Ireland. Murphy was through to the last 16 but lost out in a tight match against Derek Downie. A disappointed Murphy headed back to Cork yesterday but one marginal benefit was a day off today as he prepares to join Kinsale’s challenge for the Barton Shield this weekend.
AIG Barton Shield :: South Munster 2017 Draw
Macroom plays host to the AIG Barton Shield tomorrow. Sixteen clubs will descend on the mid Cork course for the first eight round matches. It will be a busy morning, a two tee start means that all sixteen fourballs will be on the course by 9.30am. Two rounds are scheduled for tomorrow with the four semi-finalists going to play on Sunday morning. Cork Golf Club will be hoping to get their 2017 campaign off to a good start, the 2016 Munster Champions face Fermoy. Play in Macroom gets underway at 8.30am.
Meanwhile on Sunday Mahon and East Cork will head for Killarney for the Purcell and Bruen Munster finals.
Murphy through to final 16 in North of Ireland
John Murphy had two matchplay wins today to advance to the third round of the North of Ireland Open in Royal Portrush. They were two contrasting rounds, he needed a huge putt on the last this morning to get past Kiet Van Der Weele but made short work of Andrew Mulholland this afternoon. Murphy always seemed to have a narrow edge over his opponent from Holland this morning but it took a 25 foot putt on the last to go one up and advance to the last 32. This afternoon he faced Castlerock’s Mulholland and solid golf – and a good few birdies – saw him go five up at one stage near the end of the front nine. In the end he closed put the match on the 15th with a 4&3 win. He now goes on to play Derek Downie from Kirkistown Castle. It’ll be another early start for Murphy with a 7.45am tee time. He’ll be hoping for another long day tomorrow with two rounds scheduled to bring the competition down to the final four golfers.
Cathal Butler lost out on the 18th green this evening, he was beaten by Tandragee’s Ross Dutton on the 18th. Butler had gone two down earlier in the match but had levelled it by the time they reached the 14th. The home player persevered however and took the win on the final green. Butler had overcome Andrew Continue reading
Sugrue heads Cork qualifiers, North of Ireland Championship
James Sugrue is one of three likely Cork qualifiers to make it through to the match play stages of the North of Ireland Championship at Royal Portrush. The Mallow man recovered from a disappointing front nine one the championship course that saw him turn on +3. Sugrue fought back with three birdies to level his score on the back nine on the Dunluce links, he finished with a 36 hole total of 140 (-3) to claim a place in the top 25. Sugrue’s level par 72 was one of the better scores today with many golfers failing to get around the difficult course links without dropping shots. Kinsale’s Cathal Butler carded a three over par 75 today, when added to his 66 from yesterday the Kinsale man also qualified comfortably on 2 under par. He had 15 pars and a birdie, but two consecutive double bogies on the front nine cost him a few spots on the leaderboard. Conditions were much better for day two of the championship which saw 300 golfers play over both courses at the famous resort on the northern coast.
John Murphy had nervy wait Continue reading
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