Peter O’Keeffe

Trojan effort from O’Keeffe just falls short

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Gameface; Peter O'Keeffe in action in the South of Ireland in Lahinch last year

Peter O’Keeffe in action in the South of Ireland in Lahinch last year

Peter O’Keeffe’s two week marathon is finally over, but after eight rounds of golf in five days the Douglas member came agonisingly close to claiming his second major amateur title.  This morning O’Keeffe dispatched Robert Brazill on the 17th green to reach the final of the North of Ireland in Portrush.  This afternoon he faced England’s Arron Edwards-Hill in the final.  Having spent last week in Lahinch caddying for Robin Dawson, O’Keeffe was onto day 11 of his golfing marathon.  He was heading into his 14th round this afternoon, and he was determined to give it his all in pursuit of the famous provincial title.

Gallery: Golffile’s North of Ireland Final Round Gallery

The final started with a few scrappy holes, Edwards-Hill won the first, Peter won the second, and Edwards-Hill won the third when O’Keeffe lost a ball.  But after that the golf improved with both Continue reading →

Top Four for Fionn in Leinster, Final Four for Peter in Portstewart

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Douglas Senior Senior Scratch Cup26th May 2019

Fionn Hickey

It was another positive day for Cork golfers, 16 year old Fionn Hickey was in the prizes a the Leinster Boys while Peter O’Keeffe dispatched another two challengers and is into the semi-final of the North of Ireland.

Muskerry’s Fionn Hickey continued his positive set of results this summer with a fourth place finish at the Leinster Boys.  Played in Waterford Golf Club over the past three days, Hickey close with a one under par 70.  Three birdies in his final five holes helped the Muskerry golfer move up one spot on the leaderboard, and he also won the best Under 17 prize.  Mel Deasy (Lee Valley) finished inside the top ten, two birdies on the back nine helped improve his position after going through the front nine in +3 today.  Keelan McCarthy and Robbie Walsh came home together in 14th position.  Both golfers shot identical rounds of 74,73,78 over the three days, while Mallow’s Daniel O’Sullivan was one shot back in 22nd place.

In Portstewart, Peter O’Keeffe claimed his fourth matchplay win in two day, closing out all four matches before he reached the 18th hole.  In the round of 32, O’Keeffe faced Jake Rowe from Tandragee, and he beat the Ulsterman 2&1.  This afternoon he faced Malone’s Matthew McClean in the quarter-final and closed out the match on the 16th after holding a solid lead throughout.

Douglas Senior Senior Scratch Cup26th May 2019

Peter O’Keeffe

Tomorrow morning the Douglas golfer will face the top qualifier and 2018 West of Ireland winner Rob Brazill from Naas.  Both golfers are currently on the Irish Senior Mens panel and it promises to be an interesting match.  In the second semi final, Liam Grehan will take on Arron Edwards-Hill.  O’Keeffe has been on the road for well over a week.  Last week he caddied for his friend Rob Dawson in the Irish Open in Lahinch, and when they finished up on Sunday, O’Keeffe made the long journey to the Northern coastline for Monday’s first round in the strokeplay qualifier.

Last 16 for O’Keeffe in North

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Peter O'Keeffe

Peter O’Keeffe

The O’Keeffe train kept on pulling today.  After well over a week on the road Peter O’Keeffe put together back to back wins in Portstewart today to get through to the last 16 in the North of Ireland.  He had another action packed day today, at 8.03am he was on the first tee facing Eoghan Collins.  A steady performance saw him dispatch the Laytown & Bettystown member on the 16th.  This afternoon he faced Rosslare’s Ian Lynch, and the Douglas man got off  to a flier winning four of the first seven holes.  O’Keeffe held his lead before eventually winning 3&1.  He’s now safely through to tomorrow’s third round where he’ll face Tandragee’s Jake Rowe.

After spending most of last week in Lahinch where he was working with Robin Dawson, O’Keeffe left Co Clare on Sunday to head for the North, where he had an afternoon tee time for the first round in Castlerock.  A poor start on Monday (+5) was followed by a very impressive 69 on Tuesday when he played on Portstewart’s championship links.

Paul Buckley had a good win this morning when the Kanturk native had a 4&2 win against Barry Cashman.  That saw him face Geoff Lenehan in the second round. Buckley was one up early doors but Portmarnock’s Lenehan, who was tied as the strokeplay leader battled hard and won 4&2.

Cathal Butler was a casualty in this morning’s first round.  Despite a bright start which saw him go two up on Aaron Edwards Hill, the Englishman fought back and beat Butler on the 17th.

O’Keeffe, Butler & Buckley through in North of Ireland

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Peter O'Keeffe

Peter O’Keeffe

Peter O’Keeffe staged a huge recovery at the North of Ireland today, jumping over 100 places on the leaderboard to make it into the matchplay stage of the provincial championship.  O’Keeffe, who only arrived in Portstewart yesterday after a week in Lahinch, needed to dig deep after an opening 78 (+5) in Castlerock yesterday.  And the big hitting Douglas golfer did just that, shooting a three under par 69 to finish inside the top 40, with two shots to spare from the cut mark of +4.  It wasn’t plain sailing for O’Keeffe on Portstewart’s Strand course, host of the 2017 Irish Open.  The 2017 Irish Open winner was two over after three holes, but two birdies and an eagle over the next four holes got him back in track.  A handful of pars followed until he dropped two more birdies on the 14th and 17th.  A bogey on the last meant he signed for a 69 and at that stage O’Keeffe was thinking it Continue reading →

Sugrue through to Amateur Matchplay

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The Amateur Championship 2019 Portmarnock & The Island Golf Club Monday 17th June 2019James Sugrue was the only Cork golfer to make it trough to the last 64 in the Amateur Championship.  After two strokeplay rounds in Portmarnock and The Island, the Mallow man finished in 46th place on +3 after two testing rounds.  Sugrue, with his usual partner Conor Dowling on the bag, was out on Portmarnock yesterday.  And like the majority of the field he found it a tough day.  While he commented the it was “insanely long”, he knew that a patient approach was probably the only way to survive the 7,000 yard course.  The wind picked up mid-morning and Sugrue couldn’t avoid a few bogies on the front nine.  A run of six pars was a welcome Continue reading →

Sugrue in contention in St Andrews

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James Sugrue_22

James Sugrue (Mallow) 

After rounds of 67 and 68, James Sugrue is in 5th place at the St Andrew’s Links Trophy in Scotland.  It’s another boost for the Mallow man has been on a good run of form.  Sugrue won the Castletroy Scratch Cup two weeks ago, before finishing in the top twenty in the Brabazon.  Although he is in 5th place, he is eight shots off the lead held by England’s Matty Lamb after a super 63 today.  Sugrue had a great run of four birdies in the middle of his round in the home of golf.  It was part of a five bogies in six holes starting at the fifth.  Sugrue had three birdies on the back nine but bogies on the 15th and 17th before a closing par would see him sign for a four under par 68.  Sugrue is the second best placed Irish golfer, he’s one behind Caolan Continue reading →

O’Keeffe takes 5th place at East of Ireland

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Douglas Senior Senior Scratch Cup 26th May 2019Peter O’Keeffe fired himself into a fifth place finish at the East of Ireland, thanks to a three under par 69 in his final round this afternoon.

O’Keeffe has an impressive back nine, he went on a birdie run and was three under for his final seven holes, and it was an impressive finish given the difficulty of the course in Baltray.  The result is a nice boost for the 2017 Irish Open Champion as he looks to cement his place on the Irish Squad.  O’Keeffe started the season with a win in the Muskerry Senior Scratch Cup, and the performance in Co Louth signals that he’s back on form.  Greg O’Mahony built on last week’s win in Douglas with a top twenty finish.  The Fota Island member will probably be disappointed with a closing 75 having been well placed after a 71 this morning.

Sean Desmond was the only other Cork golfer to make the cut, he finished in 23rd place on +5 after a final round 72.

Mallow’s James Sugrue and Kinsale’s both missed the East as they played in the Brabazon Trophy in The Alwoodley Club in Leeds.  Sugrue had a an impressive event, finishing in the top twenty.  Like much of the field, Sugrue batteld with the back nine over the four days, but on Sunday he had four birdies on the first ten holes before he eventually succumbed to two bogeys on the closing holes.  It meant that he finished with a 70, which saw him jump from 35th to tied 18th.  Both are back in action this week in the St Andrews Links Trophy.  Murphy will be keen to show some of the form he had on display recently in the NCAA Regionals and Finals, especially as he missed the cut in Leeds last weekend.

Super 65 for Butler in Co Sligo, Flogas Irish Amateur Open

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AIG Senior Cup Area Semi Finals 2018 Cork Golf Club Sunday 24th June 2018A birdie three on the last hole was the perfect finish to Cathal Butler’s round in Co Sligo today, as he signed for a 65 after a great second round.  Butler, who had a four over par 75 in his opening round, got to work early today and was three under through five holes.  He added another two birdies before the turn to go out in 31 (-5).  Although he had a few good birdie chances on the back nine he ended up with eight consecutive pars. He did close out on the 18th with a birdie, leaving him on -2 and tied for 20th at the halfway stage.  Needless to say the Kinsale golfer was in a positive frame of mind after his round.  “It was a relief as much as anything – it feels like a long time since I shot a low one” said Butler after the round.  “I was hitting it lovely, I only missed one green and hit a lot of the shots close.  The putter was steady throughout and it was nice to hole a long one on 18 to finish.”  Butler has been struggling with a back injury for the past while and that has contributed to his lack of recent appearances near the top of the leaderboard.  “I’m off around 2pm tomorrow so I’ll get a chance to go to the gym before hand.  My back has been troublesome for the past few weeks so I’ll do some exercises before I go out to play.”  As for the strategy for tomorrow, it more of the same for Cathal.  “I’ll just keep trying to make good decisions and smooth swings.  If I can stay as relaxed as I was today it should be another good day.”

James Sugrue followed his opening 70 (-1) with a two over par 73 today.  The Mallow man had a colourful back nine, comprised of two pars, three birdies, three bogies and an unfortunate double on the par five 12th.  He’s just inside the top 50, and a good round tomorrow should see him through to Sunday.  The 54 hole cut after tomorrow’s third round will see the top 50 (plus ties) go forward for Sunday’s final round.  Mel Deasy, back at the venue where he led the qualifier for the West just a few weeks ago has found the going a little tougher.  Rounds of 72 & 74 has him Continue reading →