Pictures from the third round in Lee Valley: Continue reading
Sean Desmond
McLarnon the man to catch in Lee Valley
Tiarnan McLarnon
Tiaran McLarnon shot a course record 66 (-6) in Lee Valley this afternoon to take a four stroke lead heading into the final round of the Boylesports sponsored Senior Scratch Cup. The Massereene golfer tied the lead after the opening round when he and Kinsale teenager Robbie Walsh shot a pair of 73’s in difficult conditions. McLarnon doubled down this afternoon and an eagle on the par four 1st hole helped him to take a firm hand on the 54 hole event, he’s on -5 (139) going into the final round. McLarnon, who finished as runner up last year, is now six under for his last five rounds in Lee Valley – 66-73-70-74-71!
McLarnon is the man to catch and he’s four shots ahead of Ronan Mullarney who sot a 69 this afternoon to go with his opening 74 (143, -1). Sean Desmond rounds off the top three. He was under par in the afternoon as well, with a 71 to finish on 147 (+3).
Gallery: Boylesports Lee Valley Senior Scratch R2 Pictures
Kieran McCarthy was a bit cross after the opening round. After a good drive on the 17th he failed to find his ball Continue reading
Sugrue the best of Cork in Co Sligo
James Sugrue
James Sugrue is the best of the Cork golfers at the halfway stage of the West of Ireland Championship in CO Sligo Golf Club. The Mallow man shot a two under par 69, helped along the way with an eagle on the back nine. Sugrue started smartly with an opening birdie but a seven on the par five 3rd hole set him back. He recovered with a birdie on the fifth and his eagle on the 12th brought him back into the red. Added to his opening 72, Sugrue is on -1 at the halfway stage – tied for fourth place. He’s four shots behind joint leaders Caolan Rafferty and Max Kennedy.
Mel Deasy added another 73 today to finish +4 in a tier for 30th place. The leading qualifier was three over after his front nine, but came back in one under to match yesterday’s score.
They are the only two golfers inside the top 50, the cut line after tomorrow’s third round. Greg O’Mahony and Gary Ward are just one shot outside the top 50 on +8 (T56) while Sean Desmond is a shot further back, currently placed T76. It was another tough day for Peter O’Keeffe, he shot a 78 which makes qualifying for Sunday a big ask. Cathal Butler also suffered after a horrendous front nine, which put paid to his chances. Kieran Murphy, Keith Fitzpatrick, Padraig O’Connor and Eric Rumley are all outside hopes for making it through to Sunday, but they do have one more round at the famous links to post a memorable score.
Super 69 from Rumley to lead Leinster Students
Eric Rumley came home in three under in Killeen today to sign for a 69 and lead the Leinster Students after the opening round. Fresh from helping Kinsale to their first AIG Barton Shield title in Thurles on Sunday, the Kinsale man opened with a birdie but gave shots back on the third and fifth holes. A birdie on the ninth got him back to even par, and set him up for the impressive back nine. Birdies on the 12th and 13th got him into the red and a final birdie on the par three 18th saw him tie for the lead. Stackstown’s John McCarthy is also on -3 while there are ten more golfers within three shots in the 54 hole tournament.
Gary Ward is in the top 15 on +3 while Darren Hourihan is in the top 30 two shots back. The second round gets underway tomorrow morning with the top 45 plus ties qualifying for Friday’s final round. The holder is John Murphy but he’s unable to defend his title as he returned to the University of Louisville last week.
Leinster Students Amateur Open Championship Continue reading
Rain stops play in Lahinch, seven Cork golfers through to matchplay
The second round in Lahinch came to an abrupt halt today as heavy rain flooded the course causing the second strokeplay round to be abandoned. With the first round scores counting, the top 64 cut fell at +2 with not all on that score qualifying. Kinsale’s Eric Rumley was one of those to miss out, the countback from yesterday costing him a place in the matchplay.
The seven Cork qualifiers are James Sugrue (Mallow), Cathal Butler (Kinsale), Gary O’Flaherty (Cork), John Hickey (Cork), Peter O’Keeffe (Douglas), Sean Desmond (Monkstown), Gary Ward (Kinsale). With drier weather forecast for tomorrow the organisers will be hoping to complete the two planned rounds. The first round Continue reading
Monkstown Through in AIG Senior Cup
Monkstown were the first club to book their place in the Munster finals in Thurles, marking the third time in four years that they have reached the finals of the AIG Senior Cup.
16 teams started in Cork Golf Club on Saturday morning, and two rounds later there were just four. Bandon faced Kinsale and Mallow were up against Monkstown this morning. The two semi-finals were close matches, with the Bandon Kinsale derby needing three extra holes to decide the winner. Bandon’s Ger Tobin was the hero as he won the 21st hole to take Bandon through to area final.
For team manager Pat O’Keeffe and his assistant Martin Walsh it marks another successful start to a campaign. Last year the lost at the semi-final stage so there’s no doubt that they’ll appreciate making it through to the Munster finals. This afternoon there were wins for Sean Desmond, Donal McDonnell and Martin Continue reading
O’Keeffe retains Kerry Scratch Cup title
Peter O’Keeffe from Douglas being presented with the 113 year old Kerry Scratch up by Frank Hayes (Director of Corporate Affairs Kerry Group PLC) and Kevin McCarthy (Captain Tralee Golf Club). Photo by Domnick Walsh Eye Focus LTD
Peter O’Keeffe claimed his first win of the 2018 season when he successfully defended his Kerry Scratch Cup title in Tralee last weekend. It was the perfect weekend for O’Keeffe as he fine-tuned his game in preparation for the Irish Amateur Open which started today. O’Keeffe has been a big fan of the event in Tralee and having finished second in 2016, he won the event last year. The Douglas man held the overnight lead after 36 holes. He was tied with Monkstown’s Sean Desmond who Continue reading
Healy finishes 10th at Irish Students
Kinsale’s Mark Healy pictured in 2015
Mark Healy finished in the top ten in Bray thanks to a great recovery that featured five birdies. The Kinsale man had a poor start with a bogey on the opening hole and another on the second hole. He steadied after that and pulled a shot back at the seventh. He had birdies the 10th and 11th to get back into the red and two more birdies followed on the 15th and at the final hole. Healy’s 67’s matched the best score of the day, winner Stefan Greenberg along with second placed Ronan Mullarney and third placed Jack McDonnell also went around the course in Bray on -3.
James Sugrue had a disappointing final round that saw him drop from third place to 12th. He signed for a four over par 74 which featured only a single bogey. Sean Desmond had a 72 to finish just inside the top 30 while Cathal Butler and Darren Hourihan ahd 77’s to finish in the middle of the pack, while Aoife Ni Thuama finished in 8th place in the Continue reading
Strong Cork Challenge in Lahinch, South of Ireland Day 3
Weather conditions in Lahinch were slightly better today as the opening two rounds of the matchplay got underway. After two rounds there are still five Cork golfers involved, with two all-Cork clashes set for tomorrow morning.
Kinsale’s Cathal Butler and John Murphy made it through to the third round. Murphy had a two hole win over his Munster team mate Andrew McCormack this afternoon while Butler won on the 18th against Robert Brazill from Naas. Butler will face Peter O’Keeffe in the third round, O’Keeffe had wins today over two Limerick members, Owen O’Brien and Sean Poucher to book his place on the last 16. Gary O’Flaherty will face James Sugrue in the final match tomorrow morning. O’Flaherty needed all 18 holes this morning to beat Keith Murphy while this afternoon he dispatched Stephen Loftus 5&4. Sugrue was the last player left on the course this evening and he wrapped up his match with Darragh Coghlan on the 17th. With eight Cork qualifiers the hopes were high that someone might follow in Mervyn Owens footsteps and claim the prestigious South title. After today there are still five with a chance. Gary Ward won this morning but fell to Colm Campbell in the second round match this afternoon. Two Cork qualifiers lost out in this morning’s first round. Sean Desmond was handed a tough draw when he was put up against Conor O’Rourke from Naas. The form book ruled and Continue reading
Desmond close to the lead in Lahinch, South of Ireland Day One
It isn’t too often that a scratch golfer would have six bogies and a double – and still be happy with his round. Well that’s exactly what happened Sean Desmond in Lahinch today. Playing is his first South of Ireland, the Monsktown teenager shot a 74 in very testing conditions. That 74 included four birdies and an eagle, which helped Desmond to bounce back from the bogies. He was actually one under after an eagle on the 5th and he finished the front nine on level par. That included a lost ball on the 7th which led to a double bogey. A birdie on the 12th saw Desmond back in the red but three consecutive bogies on 13, 14 and 15 saw him return to the black and sign for a two over par 74.
Desmond held the clubhouse lead for a few hours but was surpassed by Rowan Lester who came home in three under to record a level par 72. Desmond is currently tied for second alongside Robin Dawson. Gary O’Flaherty and Peter O’Keeffe are the next best of the Cork lads, they both shot a four over par 76. John Hickey is two Continue reading
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