Niall Turner

Turner finishes 4th in Ballykisteen, Europro Tour

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Great National Hotels Irish Masters, Ballykisteen Golf & Country Club, Friday 12th May 2017A cold putter cost Niall Turner today in the final round of the Great National Hotels Irish Masters at Ballykisteen.  The overnight leader bounced back from a double on the first, and despite giving himself plenty of chances on the greens he couldn’t covert the birdies chances.  Turner finished in a tie for fourth place as all of the leaders struggled to match the scoring of the first two rounds.  Despite the missed chances the Muskerry golfer was withing a shot or two of the lead for much of the round, and when a bogey on the 12th brought him back to -9 it looked as if the win was out of reach.  The Asian Tour member rallied with birdies on the 16th and 18th and that brought him back to -11 and he took home just over €2,000 for his week in Tipperary.

Gallery: Great National Hotels Irish Masters Final Round

Waterville’s David Higgins had a great start and was -4 for his opening eight holes which saw him jump Continue reading →

Turner leads in Ballykisteen, Great National Hotels Irish Masters R2

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Niall Turner shot a flawless 66 in the second round of the Great National Hotels Irish Masters at Ballykisteen today.  Turner had four birdies on the front nine and added two more at the 11th and 13th.  Surprisingly though the long hitter from Waterfall couldn’t add to his haul on the two closing par fives.  Despite that Turner should be happy, he goes into tomorrow’s final round on -11, with a one shot lead over English duo Jack Harrison and Ben Robinson.

“All parts of my game have been pretty good so far,” said Turner. “If you drive it nicely out here you have a lot of short irons in. I have driven well so far and my wedges have been good so I have given myself a lot of birdie chances.

“This is my first time at Ballykisteen – it is a really enjoyable course to play and it is in great condition. It will probably be similar scoring tomorrow. If you get to 16 or 17 under that would be tough to beat but there is a very low one out there so you are going to need to keep making birdies.”

David Higgins also had six birdies but the Waterville man had two bogies and signed for a 68.  He’s tied for 16th place, five behind the leader on -6.  Monkstown’s Cian McNamara dropped back after is one under a 71.  Despite five birdies in six holes on his front nine, he dropped for shots.  Although he’s safely inside the cut mark, he’s seven off the lead and will be hoping for a good day tomorrow to earn a decent cheque.

Turner 3rd in Ballykisteen, McNamara T16, Europro Tour Round 1

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Niall Turner

Niall Turner

Niall Turner carded a five under par round to lies in 3rd place on the opening day of the Great National Hotels Irish Masters at Ballykisteen Golf & Country Club.  The Europro Tour event saw over 150 professionals tee it up today for Munster’s first Europro event in several years.  Turner started on the back nine and reeled off four birdies in a row from the 15th to 18th to turn on -2.  He added another four birdies in six holes on the front nine and one dropped shot on the par three 6th hole saw him sign for a 67.  Turner is two shots off the lead which is held by England’s James Ruth.

Cian McNamara was one of the early starters this morning and he set the tone, birdieing the 1st & 3rd holes.  He added another on the par five 18th and finished on -3 in a big group of 19 players.  Waterville’s David Higgins is one Continue reading →

Turner middle of the pack in Japan

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Niall Turner3Niall Turner carded a final round 73 to finish in 44th place at the Panasonic Open in Japan this morning.  On Friday Turner made birdie on the final hole to get inside the cut, this event is his first in seven weeks after he played in the Maybank Open in Malaysia in February.  Turner had a 69 yesterday to jump up to 30th place but dropped back today as a result of his two over par 73.

Turner takes away almost $4,500 which see’s him jump up to 62 in the Asian Tour order of Merit.  Turner nee to be inside the top 60 to retain his card and he’ll be encouraged that this weekend makes it three cuts in a row after missing the cut in the first two events of the season.  The Waterfall native has a total of $15,000 in tour earnings from his five events.  Turner has entered the Yeander Heritage event in Chinese Taipei next week and although this is only a $300k event (the Asian Tour minimum prize-fund) it’ll give Turner a chance to get inside the top 60 before the tour takes a break in May.

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Great start for Turner in Malaysia

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Niall Turner

Niall Turner

Niall Turner turned up the heat in Malaysia this morning, shooting an opening 68 in the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur.  Starting on the 10th tee, Niall opened with a birdie and followed that with five pars before he struck with three more birdies on the bounce.  His only bogey happened on the 4th (his 13th hole) but he bounced back with a birdie on his 17th hole.  A final par meant he signed for a 68 and the -4 total sees him 11th place alongside Robert Karlsson and six others.

The Muskerry member is playing the event which is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the European Tour.  He is best placed Irish golfer going into day two, and has an early tee time tomorrow, 1.20am Irish Continue reading →

Injuries behind Turner as 2017 Season Starts

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niall-turner-jan-2017

Niall Turner pictured with his dad Pat at Muskerry over Chistmas

Niall Turner starts his 2017 campaign this week and he’s hoping for a good start as he makes his return from an injury ridden 2016. After losing most of the 2014 season after surgery on his hip, Turner had a very strong 2015, but he suffered a re-occurrence of the injury again early last season. In 2014 Turner had surgery to correct a condition called femoral acetabular impingement (FAI) that he had suffered from for a few years. Unfortunately for the Waterfall native, the bone spur involved grew back causing the same mobility problems. 12 months ago Turner was fully fit and full of hope, he had retained his tour card in Asia and started in a far better category which assured him of plenty of top level starts. That’s where the good news Continue reading →

Turner makes the cut in Thailand

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Niall Turner3Niall Turner made a positive return to tour golf after spending three months on the sidelines.  Turner suffered a recurrence of his hip injury which saw him miss several start on the Asian and European Tours.  He returned to action this week in the Kings Cup in Thailand and made the cut for the weekend.  The Waterfall native opened with a 69 yesterday and he added a 72 today to stand on +1.  Turner made the cut right on the mark but that won’t bother him too much as he now has two more rounds to sharpen his game.

While injuries are never welcome, it did give Turner plenty of time to focus on his wedding to his fiancee Rachel and they celebrated the big day at the end of June. Turner now has several big tournaments ahead to make an impression on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, and consolidate his tour card.  Prior to the recurrence of his injury, he had a positive start to the season, making the cut in his first three events and earning $15,000 in prize money.

The Kings Cup is Continue reading →

Turner ready for Maybank, O’Driscoll on learning curve

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Niall Turner has recovered from illness and is ready for his fourth event of the Asian Tour as he tee’s it up in Malaysia tomorrow.  The Waterfall man narrowly made the cut in Bangladesh last weekend, having to wait until the second round was complete to see if he’s be playing for the weekend.  Despite making the cut, he was forced to retire before the start of the third round due to illness.

Niall Turner Malaysia

Niall Turner pictured on the 1st tee in Royal Selangor GC in Kuala Lumpur, picture Kenneth Quillinan

Turner has made the journey south to Kuala Lumpur for the Maybank Championship Malaysia.  This is Niall’s first event of the season which is co-sanctioned Continue reading →

Quillinan’s Muskerry Heritage Uncovered

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Everyone know’s that current Asian Tour member Niall Turner is a Muskerry man, and most will know that his Dad Pat is also a Muskerry man.  However not a lot of people will know that Niall’s current caddie also has a strong Muskerry heritage.

Niall Turner Singapore KQTralee Man Kenneth Quillinan is currently on the bag for Turner.  Kenneth is a university lecturer in Korea and is spending his summer holidays keeping the Cork man company as he travels across Asia in the opening weeks of the 2016 Asian Tour.  Quillinan is also a freelance golf writer and his golfing pedigree traces back to Cork in the middle of the last centuary.  Ken’s grandfather was the Captain in Muskerry Golf Club in 1951. Not only that, Ken’s Grandmother on Continue reading →