Cork’s Rachel Thompson is through to the final four in the Irish Girls Close. Thompson came through two tough rounds in Mallow today, and the leading qualifier is safely through to tomorrow’s semi-final. The Cork golf club member wrapped up yesterday’s first round match on the 13th winning 7&5 but today she went to the 19th before getting past Emma Forbes from Portrush. This afternoon her match with Georgina Carr went to the 17th with the Cork girl taking the match on a 2&1 margin to put her through to tomorrow’s semi-final with Maeve Rooney. There were wins too for Mairead Martin and Valerie Clancy, both golfers also come through two matchplay rounds today to qualify for the semi-final. They now face each other in the second semi-final tomorrow morning.
Sara Byrne is the fourth Cork golfer in action in Mallow, she’s through to the semi-final of the plate competition after losing her first round match yesterday. The Douglas golfer needed an extra hole this morning to claim a place in the quarter finals. She had an impressive 7&6 win this afternoon beating Chloe O’Connor from Roscommon. She will face Nicole McGavisk Continue reading
Cork interest in the Irish Womens Close ended today as all five Cork golfers lost out. Top qualifier Mairead Martin lost to Irish Strokeplay Champion Maria Dunne. There were also losses for Sara Byrne and Rachel Thompson as the competition reduced from 16 to 8. Valerie Clancy made it through to the quarter finals but lost out to Ciara Casey from Hermitage.
Kinsale’s John Murphy had a pretty special bank holiday weekend, Murphy was in Portugal for the Darren Clarke Champions Weekend. As winner of the Munster Youths in August, Murphy was invited to take part in the event which was hosted by the Amendoeira Golf Resort in the Algarve. The 18 winners from the top youths, boys and girls competitions in 2016 invited for the three day trip. Rachel Thompson, Mairead Martin and Valerie Clancy also earned invitations after their performances this year. After a 4am start in Dublin airport on Friday morning, the golfers met Clarke on arrival at the golf club and played golf with the Ryder Cup Captain three times over the two days. Although vastly experienced at top level national and international boys golf, Murphy admitted that it was a pretty special experience. “We went over to the golf club and Darren introduced himself to us. It was kind of weird at the start, but I got used to it after a few hours” said Murphy who is now a student in Maynooth. “We played 18 holes with Darren playing with us and watching us, pointing 
After two convincing wins in the quarter-final and semi-final, hopes were high that Cork would lift the ILGU Irish Senior Cup today. And for a while it looked like a probability as Cork had the upper hand over Kilkenny. The final between Cork and Kilkenny was a very fluid affair, with the balance shifting on almost every hole. Kilkenny had a slight edge around the turn but Cork reversed the trend and were up in three matches and all square to lead 3.5-1.5 early in the back nine. The momentum shifted yet again though and this time Kilkenny didn’t let go. By the time the result was called in Kilkenny’s favour, Rachel Thompson was the only Cork player to win. That said, it didn’t reflect 
Davey Barry (Douglas) is in action at the PGA Assistants Championship, he shot a level par 72 in his first round at Little Aston Golf Club in Bermingham. Barry had three birdies and three bogies in his opening 18 holes, and he’s just inside the top twenty heading into the second round.
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