Peter O’Keeffe

O’Keeffe wins Irish Mid-Am in Tipperary

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Peter O’Keeffe bagged his sixth Irish Championship win last weekend when he won the Irish Mid-Am in Tipperary.  The two time Irish Open Champion already had two Mid-Am titles to his name but he has had a poor 2024 by his own standards.  O’Keeffe has played well in parts this year but struggled to put a few consecutive rounds together.  HE did that over the weekend, and started brightly with a two under par 70 although he did find himself in third place.  A level par second round put O’Keeffe into a tie for the lead after the two ahead of him dropped backwards.

After two rounds O’Keeffe was Continue reading →

Peter leading the fitness charge with Golf Strong

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Peter O’Keeffe running an online class from his  gym in Douglas Golf Club.

The frosty weather meant it was another week of little or no golf around the courses of Cork, and while many golfers are disappointed not to be able to play because of the weather conditions, many are working on plans to improve their golf.  While the driving ranges are still open in most weather conditions, the gyms are definitely open and a growing number of golfers are focusing on the strength and flexibility to improve their golf.

Peter O’Keeffe has been working with golfers since 2015 when he started out under the Peter O’Keeffe Golf Fitness brand.  That evolved into Golf Strong, a name that has now become the biggest golf fitness brand in the country.  In the early years Peter focused on individual assessments supported Continue reading →

2023 in Review

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Sara Byrne pictured back at Douglas Golf Club with the Irish Women’s Close Trophy.
Picture: Niall O’Shea

2023 was another great year for golf in Cork.  It didn’t hit some of the highs of previous years but there was a lot of success.  There was just one national title added to the honour roll in 2023, that was when Sara Byrne won the AIG Irish Women’s Close in Connemara in June.

It was a second win for Sara, particularly impressive when you consider she’s only 21.  She previously won in 2017 in Enniscrone, three years before she headed off to University of Miami.  The win this year in Continue reading →

No joy for Cork clubs at inter-club finals

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The final weekend of AIG Inter-Club All-Ireland finals took place in Westport over the week with five competitions down for decision.  It was the third weekend of events and it saw Cork clubs still looking for their first green pennant of the 2023 campaign.  Quarter-finals had taken place already in these events, and that meant the there were just two Cork teams in action from the five competitions.  Lee Valley had qualified from Munster East in the Women’s Minor Cup, the Cork club have a good record in the ladies cups events and they saw off the challenge from Rockmount in the semi-final on Thursday.  Impressive wins for Emma O’Halloran, Dinah O’Mahony and Joesphine Martin saw them through to the final on Continue reading →

O’Keeffe goes close again at the South

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Peter O’Keeffe tees off the 17th in Lahinch

Peter O’Keeffe had another narrow loss at the South of Ireland, finishing as runner-up after five days of golf in Lahinch.  O’Keeffe agonisingly lost out on the 18th green, just one step away from claiming his first provincial championship.  The three time Irish champion was a semi-finalist in 2021, a finalist in 2022 and reached the final again last Sunday.  Despite leading for most of the final on Sunday, he was drawn back to level by Colm Campbell on the 17th, with the Warrenpoint man winning on the final hole after five today days of championship golf.

It was another impressive Continue reading →

Ten Cork golfers advance at the South

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Joe O’Neill (Berehaven) in action at the 2023 South of Ireland, sponsored by Pierse Motor Group. Picture: Niall O’Shea

Cork golfers had some impressive performances at the South of Ireland last week with ten golfers making the cut.  Dean O’Riordan, Joe O’Neill and Robert Walsh all made it through on the cut mark of +6 while Mel Deasy was one better on +5.

Peter O’Keeffe was just one off the leading qualifier on -5 and Morgan Cain was the only other Cork player under par on -2.  Former South Champion Sean Desmond went safely through on +1 with James Walsh continuing his good run of form to finish in the top 20.  Munster Strokeplay winner Jason Law also made Continue reading →

Woodbrook win for Peter O’Keeffe

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Peter O’Keeffe (Douglas) Picture: Niall O’Shea

Peter O’Keeffe got back to winning ways last Sunday.  O’Keeffe set a course record on his way to winning the Pinergy Woodbrook Scratch Cup in an impressive performance over 36 holes.  O’Keeffe ended up six shots clear of the field, his Irish teammate Rob Brazill finished in second place on -4.

The Walker Cup panel member shot a course record 65 in his first round.  That included five birdies and an eagle on his way to shooting a seven under par 65. That left him four shots clear of the field going into the second round.  O’Keeffe produced another great round in the afternoon, he ended up three under and was the only golfer to break 70.  After opening with two birdies Peter went on to drop a shot on the sixth to go out in one under.  He had another three birdies and one bogey on the back nine to sign for a 69 and win the event in style.

Cork golfers into the swing of the action in Europe and Egypt

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John Murphy

THE stretch in the evenings is now clear to see for all golfers and now that we’re into March golf courses around Cork are much busier. 

The ground has also firmed up and thoughts are turning to qualifying competitions and championships which will get underway later this month. There are a large number of tournaments and events scheduled to take place in Cork over the next eight months, and the first event on the schedule is the Cork Women’s Scratch Cup which takes place in Cork Golf Club on Saturday week. Continue reading →

Early Season Action for 2023

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James Sugrue and Rob Brazill pictured during the 2022 Irish Challenge at the Palmer South course at the K Club.  Pic: Niall O’Shea

The stretch in the evenings is now clear to see for all golfers and now that we’re into March golf courses around Cork are much busier.  The ground has also firmed up and thoughts are turning to qualifying competitions and championships which will get underway later this month.  There are a large numbers tournaments and events scheduled to take place in Cork over the next eight months, and the first event on the schedule is the Cork Women’s Scratch Cup which takes place in Cork Golf Club on Saturday 11th March.

In April Monkstown will host the Munster Women’s Senior and Junior Championships and at the end of April the Munster Men’s Amateur Open will be hosted by Cork.  This is the new name for the Munster Strokeplay which incorporates the Cork Scratch Cup, the oldest scratch cup in the Country.  This year marks the centenary of the Cork Scratch Cup and in a nod to the original format, a match play Continue reading →