Donal McDonnell was the winner on Sunday, picking up his first Senior Scratch Cup title. Fota Island held their annual showpiece on Sunday, again in association with Top Golfer. There was a full timesheet for the event on the Deerpark course, and the three time Irish Open venue proved itself yet again as nobody could break par. Although the course was in great condition, it did play all of it’s 6,927 yards. Donal McDonnell from Monkstown was the winner after four players tied on 73. McDonnell took the title ahead of John O’Brien (Castlemartyr), Kieran Kennedy (Thurles) and David Howard (Fota Island). The Monkstown golfer is a regular on Monkstown’s successful Senior Cup team and has a provincial winners medal, Donal is also Junior Officer in Monkstown. This was his first senior scratch cup title and needless to say he was delighted with his win. Although he was four over par at the turn, McDonnell put together a great back nine. He shot two under for the second nine, and finished 3,3,4 which was crucial in terms of his placing for the countback. Although the top four were tied, John O’Brien took second place, Kennedy was third and David Howard was fourth. Howard had a busy weekend, on Saturday the four handicapper shot a 75 in Muskerry in the Ford Junior Scratch Trophy qualifier, and on Sunday he beat his handicap by two when he shot the 73. Anyone looking to play Fota this week can take advantage of their Masters Week specials, full details are available from the pro shop.
Senior Scratch Cup
Fionn wins in East Cork
On Saturday Fionn Hickey claimed his second scratch cup when he won the East Cork Senior Scratch Cup. The 16 year old came away with the title after beating Kinsale’s Mark Healy on the countback. A birdie on Hickey’s final hole (15th) proved crucial in the end after both golfers shot a 70 (+1). Fermoy’s Dean O’Riordan took third place with a 71. The first nett prize went to Bandon’s Michael O’Neill with a 68, while East Cork’s Kieran O’Brien was second nett with 69. The scratch cup was sponsored by McGuirks and was the first of a few events that will mark the club’s 50th anniversary.
East Cork Senior Scratch Cup, sponsored by McGuirks
- Fionn Hickey (Muskerry) 70
- Mark Healy (Kinsale) 70
- Dean O’Riordan (Fermoy) 71
- Michael O’Neill (Bandon) 68 – Best Nett
- Kieran O’Brien (East Cork) 69 Second Nett
Saturday Showdown in Muskerry
Muskerry Captain Diarmuid Linehan pictured with the holder Fionn Hickey and Michael O’Connor from Investec at the launch of the Muskerry Senior Scratch Cup.
Excitement is building for the first major golf competition for 2019, the Muskerry Senior Scratch Cup on Saturday. With new sponsors Investec on board, the club put renewed effort into the famous event. They reaped the rewards with a strong field of entries which includes two Irish internationals and several Munster interprovincial players. Peter O’Keeffe and James Sugrue lead the field in terms of handicaps, both golfers are past winners, Sugrue won in 2016 while O’Keeffe’s win came ten years earlier in 2006 will be looking to add to his growing haul of titles. Both golfers have been busy in the off-season. Sugrue was at the Irish training camp in South Africa which incorporated two top level international events, while O’Keeffe made an appearance at an Alps tour event and has been focused on practice in the recent weeks.
Draw: Investec Muskerry Senior Scratch Cup
Munster golfers Gary O’Flaherty, Cathal Butler and Andrew McCormack were among the early entries and there is currently a standby list in place as over 80 golfers have entered the event. The original limit of 66 players has been moved to Continue reading
Gallery: Lee Valley Senior Scratch 2018 R3(2)
Pictures from the course and presentation this afternoon: Continue reading
Gallery: Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup 2018 – R3
Pictures from the third round this morning: Continue reading
O’Flaherty goes low to lead in Lee Valley
Gary O’Flaherty had a super second round of 64 in Lee Valley this afternoon to claim the lead in the Senior Scratch Cup. Nine birdies and a single bogey saw the Cork GC golfer post an 11 shot swing from his morning round. His 75/64 has given him a two shot lead in the competition with the final 18 holes scheduled for tomorrow. Ronan Mullarney (-3, 70/71) leads the chasers with Jack McDonnell and Sean Desmond on -2. James Sugrue is 4th on -1, he’ll be looking for his second scratch cup win after success in Fota Island last week.
Gallery: Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup 2018 (R2)
O’Flaherty went on a roll from the second hole this morning. He birdied the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and the index one 5th hole thanks to a chip in. He parred the 6th and the 7th which was playing into a very strong wind. Another birdie followed on the par five 8th and he turned on 30 strokes after a sixth birdie on the 9th.
Another birdie followed on the 10th with two more following on the Continue reading
Gallery: Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup 2018 (R2)
Pictures from this afternoon in Lee Valley: Continue reading
Ward wins on the Double
Gary Ward had a double win last weekend, the Kinsale man scooped two senior scratch cups over the course of two days. On Saturday he headed to Kanturk and went around the North Cork course in one under par to record his second win of the year. On Sunday it was off to Co Clare for the 36 Dromoland Senior Scratch Cup, and Ward topped the leaderboard again after shooting rounds of 69 and 77. Ward won the Cobh Senior Scratch Cup in May, shooting a course record 66 on the way to his first senior scratch cup title. Ward played Kanturk for the first time on Saturday and it was a winning debut as he described. “It was my first time playing Kanturk and all I knew was that it was tight” said Ward. “I hit the ball where I could see it and played really steady golf the whole way around. The pins were very tough, a few hanging off slopes so it was tough to put it close. I never went over par and never went better than -2, my 3rd birdie on the par 3 16th saved my round and took my pars on 17 and 18 for a 70 to win by 1 from Peter Duane.”
After that win it was off to Dromoland for the Top Golfer 36 hole scratch cup. There was a top class field in Continue reading
Ward Wins in Cobh, Cobh Senior & Junior Scratch Cups
Gary Ward shot a very impressive 66 in Cobh today to win the Senior Scratch Cup. The score is a course record at the championship course. Ward had a good start and birdied the 3rd & 4th before he went on to add two more birdies on the 7th & 8th holes. He added another birdie on the par three 10th to get to five under. His only blemish came on the 12th when he dropped a shot after putting a ball in the water. Ward regained the shot on the very next hole and moved to six under when he bogied the last hole.
It was a 1-2 for Kinsale as Keith Fitzpatrick took second place with a 71. Cobh’s Gavin Lynch won the nett prize. Mark McGroarty won the Junior Scratch Cup in style with a level par 72 enough to win the title by two shots. Monkstown’s Ken Treacy was second on 74 and Eoin Wilson was third with a 75. Aaron Ward (Blarney) won the nett prize with a 69, beating Jack Ryan (Monkstown) on the countback.
Desmond claims first Scratch Cup win in Douglas
Cobh’s next big event is the AIG Junior Continue reading
Gallery: Dell EMC Lee Valley SSC, Round 3 (2)
Pictures from Lee Valley on Sunday afternoon: Continue reading
Cork Golf News 