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
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.
Kinsale’s Cathal Butler opened with a very impressive 66 at the North of Ireland Amateur Open yesterday. Playing on the Valley links in Royal Portrush the Maynooth student shot a round of -5 to grab a tie for fifth place. Butler went out in -1 after three birdies and two bodies on the opening nine, but a powerful back nine saw him return in -4. Birdies on the 10th & 11th were followed by an eagle on the par five 16th. That see’s him just two shots off the lead held by Rowan Lester.
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.
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 
Peter O’Keeffe overcame a one shot deficit in the final nine holes in Tralee today to claim the prestigious Kerry Scratch Cup. O’Keeffe was joint leader going into the final round but Tralee’s Fergal O’Sullivan led by one shot after 45 holes. It was a tough day for the players in Tralee, O’Sullivan was +3 at the turn and O’Keeffe was +4 as high winds and squally rain did its best to wear down the competitors.
Cork Golf News 