SHORT GAME:THE Donabate junior girls team of Eirin Synnott, Nicole McGavisk, Keeva Bowe, Veronica Fay Watt, Aisling Reid, Emma Flemming and Grace O'Malley has won the Fingal Junior Girls' Team Trophy, sponsored this year by EBS, Swords.
It was Donabate’s first time to win the trophy and only their second year to enter the competition since it began in 2000. In all, 11 clubs took part and competitions were played over four rounds in Malahide, Corrstown, Sutton and Ashbourne. Clontarf took second place, with Beaverstown in third.
IT was celebrations all round for the Durkan family from Woodbrook GC over the weekend when Brian, playing off a handicap of six, won the Captain’s (Kieran Murphy) prize with an excellent score of 73 points (41-32). It made it a family double as Brian’s brother Anto won Tommy Sheridan’s Captain’s prize last year and to round it off their father, Tony, a Mayoman, was celebrating Mayo’s victory over the Dubs at Croke Park.
Co Sligo claim Fred Daly Trophy
CO SLIGO clinched the Fred Daly Trophy when they defeated Faithlegg by 5-2 in the final at Loughrea Golf Club.The decisive blow for Co Sligo came from Seán Flanagan, who triumphed at the 22nd hole against Robin Dawson in a match that saw the momentum turn one way and then the other.
Earlier, Co Sligo had scored wins through David Brady, Conor McDaniel and Alan Gaynor.
TJ Ford finished all square after 18 holes with Faithlegg’s James Kavanagh after the pair shared the last hole in birdies. Ronan Forkan was also called in all square in his match with Tom Kissane.
Adam Kennedy was Faithlegg’s victor, beating Cian Feeney 6 and 5 in match seven. Victory in Loughrea gave Co Sligo their second success in the Fred Daly Trophy after their win back in 2007.
Castlebar made it a Connacht double when they won the Irish Junior Foursomes with a five-holes victory over Mallow. Ryan Gibbons and Mark Jennings beat Paul McCarthy and Kieran O’Sullivan by five holes, while Shane O’Connor and Diarmuid Gibbons halved with James Sugrue and Eoin Goggin. In the semi-finals Castlebar beat Moyola Park, while Mallow edged out Borris.
Carlow host Midlands Scratch Cup
CARLOW Golf Club are getting ready to stage the 63rd Midlands Senior Scratch Cup on Saturday and Sunday next.
It’s now 62 years since the great Joe Carr won the first staging of this 72-hole stroke event. This tournament has attracted all of Ireland’s leading amateur golfers and indeed in years past many notables from overseas. Other winners include Peter McEvoy, Mark Gannon, Gareth Maybin and three-time Major winner Pádraig Harrington.
The current holder of the Midlands Scratch Cup, Jack Pierse from the Grange, will defend his title following his win last year.
The quality field will include Harry Diamond (Belvoir Park), Nicky Grant (Knock), Richard O’Donovan (Lucan), Stephen Walsh (Portmarnock), and Joe Lyons (Galway).
Carlow will be hoping for a home-grown winner with John Greene. The one and only home winner was Jim McVeigh way back in 1980.
Grange pip Castle to Shield honours
THE Leinster Alliance held the 86th staging of the Irish Times Shield recently at Tulfarris Golf Club. Competition was very keen from a large turnout and on a course in superb condition, the finish could not have been tighter.
Both Grange and Castle tied on the best three cards out of four, with 100 points each. On checking the fourth cards, they were both tied again but Grange won out on the best back nine. The Grange team comprised vice-captain Peter O’Loghlen, Tony Frew, John Noonan and Camillus Muldowney.
The best nett was won by Muldowney (7) with 39 points from Brian O’Brien Kenny (7) from Portmarnock with 37. The best gross was won by Kevin Richmond (5) from Lucan with 31, with Derek Rath (5) from Old Conna second on 30. The winter programme commences with an outing to Grange on October 14th followed by outings to Lisheen, formerly South County, on October 28th and The K Club on November 18th and in 2013, Arklow on February 16th and finally to Powerscourt on March 3rd.
THE Irish team for the European Seniors Team Championship at Estoril Golf Club, Portugal, starting tomorrow is: Michael Coote (Tralee), Maurice Kelly (Killeen), Garth McGimpsey (Bangor), John Mitchell (Tramore), Adrian Morrow (Portmarnock) and Arthur Pierse (Tipperary).
Clontarf stage dramatic rally to win McDonnell Cup
CLONTARF, celebrating their Centenary this year, staged a remarkable comeback to win the McDonnell Cup for the first time, beating Hollywood Lakes by 7½-6½ in the final.
Hollywood Lakes, the defending champions, held a commanding lead of 5½-1½ after the first leg on their home course, and seemed destined to make it a hat-trick of victories, needing only two points from the seven matches in the second leg at Clontarf.
In the top match the Clontarf pairing of Paul Fennelly and Conor O’Neill were one down playing the 18th but won the hole to gain a vital half point. Clontarf proceeded to win the next five matches to take a 7-6 lead, and it all depended on the outcome of the final match in which Hollywood Lakes were three up with four holes to play.
However, there was a dramatic turnaround as Clontarf’s Noel Nolan played an exquisite chip shot at the difficult short par three 15th to within inches of the pin to win the hole. At the par four 16th his partner Fred Kelly, short in two, pitched to two feet for a winning par to reduce the deficit to one.
Nolan emerged as the Clontarf hero when he holed from 25 feet to halve the 17th hole, and at the 18th where he holed from 12 feet to win the hole and gain the vital half point for overall victory.
The two clubs will meet again in the final of the O’Grady Mixed Foursomes on Sunday next.
Cork duo bound for South Africa
BRIAN McCarthy and Bill McGarry from Cork GC won the Audi quattro Cup final in Killarney Golf Club recently. The pair won the 22nd final of the competition by three points with a score of 47 points, from Peter Cahill and Kevin Smith, and Ian Pericho and Anthony Daly, who carded 43 points.
McCarthy and McGarry will now represent Ireland in the world final of the Audi quattro Cup, which will be held at Arabella GC in the Western Cape Province, South Africa, in November.
The Audi quattro Cup is now over 20 years old and has seen some one million golfers participate worldwide.
