There was great excitement in Kinsale on Thursday for the fourth staging of the annual Pro Shop Challenge. This year’s charity match was titled the “Internationals v Professionals, as Kinsale’s two Irish Internationals John Murphy and Eoghan Cassidy took on Kinsale’s PGA Professionals Ger Broderick and Ian Stafford. Murphy has been a senior international for two years while Cassidy picked up his first international cap at under 14 level this year. There was a special guest there on the day, the Mullingar scratch cup was in the pro shop, that was thanks to John Murphy’s win a week before in the famous Leinster tournament. As play got underway it was the Professionals who took the lead, thanks to a birdie from Stafford on the first. Cassidy levelled the match on the 5th with a tap in birdie after a perfect approach shot.
Eoghan Cassidy
John Murphy was impressed with his new partner, it was the first time they played together in a competition. “Eoghan was so impressive, he drove the ball like a professional” said the college Senior. “He’s a class act and has huge things in store for him. I really enjoyed watching him learn and gain experience in front of a large crowd, it was an opportunity I could only have dreamed of when I was his age.” There was a hint of green keepers revenge on the course for the event, tight fairways and lightning fast greens challenged all four golfers as they put on a show for the large gallery. The course in Farrangalway was in excellent condition, the new changes to the 9th, 17th and 18th have bedded in and there was scarcely a blade of grass out of place on the championship course. The birdies were a little bit scarcer than usual, but the banter between the players entertained everyone, with referee Gerry Waldron keeping Continue reading
There’s less than a week to go to Kinsale’s Pro Shop Challenge is back, the fourth staging of the annual charity fundraiser. And there’s a change this year with Kinsale’s two amateur internationals taking on the Pro’s. The Kinsale Pro team remains the same, Ger Broderick and Ian Stafford are currently in training in the hope of winning back the title they lost last year. The line up on the other side has changed though, the amateurs are now restyled as the “internationals” with 14 year old Eoghan Cassidy teaming up with senior Irish international John Murphy. Murphy is currently on the senior Irish team while Cassidy is on both the Irish Under 14 and Under 16 squads. The event takes place next Thursday, and there should be a great afternoon of golf and fun. “The event itself is a fourball betterball match between Ger and myself and John Eoghan” explained 
Gary Ward scooped the Kinsale Senior Scratch Cup yesterday, but only after the winner was decided on the 19th after a play-off. It’s a fourth scratch cup for the Kinsale man, but it’s the first since 2017 and will no doubt be a welcome return to the winners circle.
Kinsale’s Senior Scratch Cup is set to be played on Saturday 29th of June, and with the club hosting the AIG Barton Shield in July, it’s sure to attract a large field of golfers. The Scratch Cup has a fresh feel as a result of its inclusion on the 2019 Munster Senior Interprovincial Order of Merit. The competition expects a high-quality field of Munster hopefuls, aiming to play their way on to the Munster Senior Interprovincial team. The South Munster Barton Shield qualifier will take place in Kinsale Golf Club in July. Kinsale won the Munster Barton Shield in 2018 and will be relishing the prospect of qualifying at home. The Scratch Cup will provide an ideal opportunity for clubs participating in the Barton Shield to get acquainted with some of the course changes in advance of the qualifier. With a gap in the national calendar, it’s also gives everyone a chance at a win at a major local event, one which dates back over 50 years.
The Kinsale Scratch Trophy was first played in September 1961 as a club competition and was won by Cork Golf Club. The format consisted of an inter-club scratch competition for teams of four, involving morning foursomes followed by afternoon singles with all scores to count in a Ryder Cup style format. In more recent years, the Scratch Cup has switched from a team to an individual format intermittently. Kinsale signalled the end of the team format of the competition on a winning note. Kieran McCarthy, Paul Crowley, Shane Kenneally and Keith O’Shea emerging victorious in 2007.
It’s almost twelve months on from where it all kicked off. The St Andrew’s Links Trophy 2018 was when John Murphy had his first major win, and the Kinsale man has kicked on with a great season with University of Louisville in NCAA Division One college. Today he kicks on with his first appearance at the Brabazon Trophy, the English Strokeplay championship. From there it’s onto St Andrew’s to defend his Links trophy, and from there it will be a mixture of Irish, English and European events as the seasons builds towards August. Murphy has the added benefit of being named in the extended Walker Cup panel, and although he missed out on a few early season events in England, he’s now on the right side of the Atlantic for the selectors to see what he can do. Twelve months ago it’s was a sudden death play-off that decided the winner of the St Andrews Links. Given Murphy’s experience in matchplay situations going back to when he was under 15 it was no 
