Kanturk Golf Club was one of 12 Cork clubs to receive a Sports Capital Programme grant last week. Picture: Niall O’Shea
A dozen Cork golf clubs celebrated last week as they were successful in the most recent round of Sports Capital Programme grants. Over €830,000 was allocated to twelve clubs across the county, and they will now look forward to investing the funds to improve their course and facilities.
Kanturk, Mallow, Kinsale and Doneraile all received grants of more than €100,000 while another eight shared funds from €14,000 to €90,000. While golf clubs have received sports capital funding in the past, the recent announcement is by far the biggest on an individual and collective Continue reading →
John Murphy and Mark Power came from behind to win the first point for GB&I this afternoon in the opening session of the Walker Cup. Playing at a windy Seminole Golf Club on the Atlantic coast in Florida, the pair only took the lead on the 17th, and a measured two putt on the final green saw the pair claim the point in the morning foursomes. The two Irish players were paired together, while it was expected both teams were hit by illness earlier in the week and it was unclear who would be fit to play today.
Needless to day Murphy was still on a high when it came to his post round interview with the Golf Channel, and he explained how they dealt with the pressure of being three down on two occasions. “I said to Mark both times we’re playing great, we’ve got to stick to what we’re doing. We got a couple of bad breaks early on but lets not try and force anything, this is a golf course for mistakes and we’ll let them make the mistakes. We stuck to our gameplan very well and stayed patient.”
Power too was delighted with the result and credited Murphy with some solid advice early in the round, “The old head here calmed me down today, he said just hit fairways and hit greens and we’ll wear these guys down.” Playing a Walker Cup match with a fellow Irishman was a real treat for both Murphy & Power and the Kilkenny man did a great job of describing it.
John Murphy watches his putt during a practice round at the 2021 Walker Cup at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla. on Friday, May 7, 2021. (Scott Halleran/USGA)
“It’s amazing. We were talking about it this week, we played Home Internationals together, played together when we were 15 and 16. On the first tee we said we were just going to just going to enjoy today and embrace it.”
It was a day of comebacks for GB&I. At one stage they were 4-0 down on the course but when the last match finished it was 2-2 on the scoreboard.
Both Irish golfers are back in action this evening in the opening singles. Power is out second against Davis Thompson while Murphy has the anchor spot on the team and will face world No 18 Cole Hammer. They tee off at 8.47pm (Irish time) with coverage continuing on Sky Sports and the Golf Channel.
Afternoon Singles
2:30 p.m. – Alex Fitzpatrick, GB&I vs. Pierceson Coody, USA
2:41 p.m. – Mark Power, GB&I vs. Davis Thompson, USA
2:52 p.m. – Ben Schmidt, GB&I vs. Ricky Castillo, USA
3:03 p.m. – Ben Jones, GB&I vs. Tyler Strafaci, USA
3:14 p.m. – Joe Long, GB&I vs. Quade Cummins, USA
3:25 p.m. – Angus Flanagan, GB&I vs. Austin Eckroat, USA
3:36 p.m. – Barclay Brown, GB&I vs. John Pak, USA
3:47 p.m. – John Murphy, GB&I vs. Cole Hammer, USA
Kinsale Golf Club celebrates John Murphy’s participation in the Walker Cup Picture: Niall O’Shea
Excitement is building in Kinsale as the golf club and the community look forward to watching John Murphy compete in the Walker Cup this weekend. Murphy will become just the fifth Cork golfer to take part in the Walker Cup after the Kentucky based golfer was selected on the team last month. Although many would have liked to travel to Seminole in Florida, not even his family or his coach were able to travel. That didn’t stop the Officers of Kinsale Golf Club from celebrating closer to home. The club unveiled a Walker Cup flag last Sunday, a nice gesture to connect the members with their star player in Florida. Watch by John’s parents Owen and Carmel, his sister Faye raised the flag in front of the clubhouse, and next week the Walker Cup pin flags will feature on Continue reading →
Ger Broderick pictured with his wife Caroilne Caroline Broderick pictured at the Pro Shop Challenge in 2019.
For any golfers playing in Kinsale’s Farrangalway course, there’s a good chance you’ve come across club professional Ger Broderick. In fact Ger has been that as long as the course and he celebrated 25 years in Kinsale last week. Having trained in the UK, Ger was working in Royal Tara when the opportunity came to return home as Kinsale opened their new 18 hole championship course in Farrangalway in 1996. The affable PGA Pro has been there since, building his reputation over three decades. He’s seen plenty of change in the club and the course in the last 25 years.
“When i started in 1996 the course was bare, but now the trees have grown and matured” explained Ger. “I left Ringenane in 1989 with 150 members and returned 7 years later with Continue reading →
There were lots of celebrations in Kinsale last week when news emerged that John Murphy had been selected for the Walker Cup next month. Murphy becomes just the fifth Cork golfer to make it to the Walker Cup. Friends and family bombarded the 22 year old with messages of congratulations, he was one of just two Irish golfers to make the GB&I team which plays the US team in Florida next month.
Among those who were delighted with the news was Ian Stafford who has coached John since he started the game. “I’m absolutely delighted for John, the run of form John has been on lately in a pressurised situation has shown how he has matured as a golfer and there is a great feeling of redemption in getting selected for the team in Seminole” said Stafford who has coached John for close to a decade. “Although this is not the first time John will have represented GB&I it is the final and biggest box ticked in terms of amateur achievements and a testament to the hard and smart work John has put in. The emotions we are feeling now are a million miles from what we felt two years ago driving away from Portmarnock after Continue reading →
Kinsale’s Robbie Walsh who will head to Tennessee next year. Pic: Niall O’Shea
Kinsale’s Robbie Walsh is the latest Cork golfer to commit to the US college system, he recently signed with the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga and is set to start with the NCAA Division 1 college in 2022. Walsh was delighted to announce his plans last week, realising a dream to advance his golf with a leading Division One NCAA college. “I always wanted to go on a scholarship to the US but I started thinking seriously about it 18 months ago” explained Walsh. “I have family there and I’ve been there on numerous occasions and I love the country. Originally when it became a strong possibility that I would be going I spoke at length with Aaron O’Callaghan. He gave some great insights regarding programmes, weather, divisions etc. I also spoke with two friends of mine John Murphy and Mark Continue reading →
John Murphy was back in college golf action last week for the first time in ten months, but the Kinsale golfer has kept himself busy. After working hard in Cork for the summer he travelled back to America last August, and he was determined to make to most of his extension as a student in University Louisville. Murphy was a Senior last year but the cancellation of the second half of the season gave him another opportunity to compete in the 2021 NCAA college golf schedule. It was a big decision to return in August, when many European based golfers chose to stay at home, but it paid off for Murphy, providing him with the weather and the facilities to improve his game. “I felt as though the semester was really productive. As always, I am just trying to learn and grow as much as possible as a player, and being in this environment certainly allowed me to do that. I was able to compete with the world’s best Continue reading →
Ian Stafford who has been busy planning the 2018 staging of the Pro Shop Challenge at Kinsale Golf Club. Picture: Niall O’Shea
2020 was a different year for everyone in golf, from course owners to golfers to professionals. With forced closures for over three months of the year, golf professionals were effectively shut down during the closures. While there were challenges, there were also opportunities and Kinsale based PGA Professional Ian Stafford definitely took advantage of the opportunities. As well as getting to spend more time with his family, Ian has continued his own habit of furthering his professional qualifications. Having started his PGA training in 2000, Stafford didn’t stop with his PGA qualification.
John Murphy has won a major US college golf award, he was confirmed as the winner of the prestigious Byron Nelson Award. Three weeks ago Murphy was shortlisted as one of the three finalists and late on Thursday evening he was announced as the winner. The Byron Nelson Award is awarded based on the winners golfing and academic performance as well as their character. Although his senior year was cut short, the win was a great boost for the Kinsale man.
“I am still overawed to have been honoured with this award and to have my name mentioned in the same sentence as Byron Nelson,” said Murphy. “To be recognised for what I do both on and off the golf course is incredible and I am so grateful that the committee put their faith in me. I feel incredibly lucky Continue reading →
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