Anderson claims Munster title
Recently crowned West of Ireland champion Barry Anderson completed a memorable April double when he won the Munster Strokeplay title for the second time at Cork Golf Club.
The Royal Dublin member was three strokes behind Delgany’s Marc Nolan and fellow Royal Dublin member Stephen Healy after 36 holes. But he carded rounds of 70 and 72 to win by one shot from Galway and Maynooth’s Ronan Mullarney and Douglas’ Peter O’Keeffe on five-over-par 293.
Anderson shot a two-under par 70 in the third round to lead on five-over-par alongside Douglas’ Peter O’Keeffe (72) with Mullarney (71) two behind, and Ian O’Flynn and Shau Carter a shot further back.
Mullarney set the clubhouse target at six-over 294 with a second successive 71 leaving O’Keeffe and Anderson to settle the issue. They were tied on five-over playing the 18th but O’Keeffe found a poor lie in a fairway bunker from the tee and couldn’t save par from 35 feet as Anderson got up and down from the fringe for a closing par, a 72 and a one-shot win on five-over.
Mullarney edged out O’Keeffe (73) for second place on a countback and also won the Carr Bruen trophy as the best under-25.
Moynihan wins Lookers Championship
Gavin Moynihan carded a final-round 68 to finish nine under par and win the Euro Pro Tour Lookers Championship at Close House, Newcastle, by one shot from Dermot McElroy.
The closing stages of HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour season opener effectively turned into matchplay between the two friends who have known each other for much of their careers in both the amateur and now professional ranks.
It was a nip and tuck final round with both holding the lead at one stage but Moynihan (68, 68, 68) edged in front with a birdie at the par-five 17th and saw home the £10,000 victory with a par at the last.
“I am delighted to win,” said Moynihan, who also takes home a brand new Motocaddy S3 PRO electric trolley with lithium battery, Bushnell Pro X2 Range Finder and Bolle sunglasses.
“It was a good battle there with myself and Dermot. I had a great start to be three under after eight. Then I had bogey at 11 and Dermot had gone birdie, birdie so suddenly from one ahead I was one behind and a little bit shell shocked.
“But I knew I was playing well and the last six holes I played really well - the approach into 18 was probably my best shot of the day.
“Myself and Dermot played together in GB and Ireland boys teams and were foursomes partners. We have known each other since we were 14, we are best friends.”
McElroy (Ballymena Golf Club) finished on eight under after rounds of 67, 68 and 70 on the par-71 Colt Course at Close House.
Nick McCarthy (Moortown; 69, 69, 68) provided the closest competition to the top two but his three-under 68 for a seven under tournament score wasn’t quite enough. Jonathan Caldwell from Clandeboye finished fourth after carding 69 72 67 for 208, Niall Kearney (The Royal Dublin) placed 16th after 69 71 71 for 211 and Brian McElhinney (North West) 72 71 74 for 217.
Strong Irish Team for Carey Cup
Three of Ireland’s six Walker Cup panelists have been named in the GUI team for the biennial match against the Metropolitan Golf Association of New York for the Carey Cup, which takes place at Galway Bay Golf Resort on May 17th and 18th May.
The GUI team boasts a mix of experience and youth with Colm Campbell (Warrenpoint) the eldest member. The Ulsterman captured the Irish Amateur Open at Royal Dublin in 2016 and is a three-time winner with Ireland in the Home Internationals. He also was a member of the winning GUI team in the last staging of the Carey Cup in 2015.
Irish Close Champion Alex Gleeson (Castle) was also on the winning team last time out and he joins Campbell as one of the most experienced members of the team.
Naas Golf Club boasts two members of the GUI team, the Nassau Invitational winner from 2016 Conor O’Rourke and the 2016 West of Ireland Champion Jonathan Yates.
Kevin Le Blanc (The Island) was the Junior Open Champion in 2014 will make his second appearance for Ireland after he debuted last month in Spain at the European Nations Trophy.
Making his senior debut is 16-year old Mark Power from Kilkenny. Winner of the Peter McEvoy Trophy in 2016, the teenager is also the current Irish Boys Champion.
Schools double for De La Salle Waterford
De La Salle Waterford completed a memorable double by winning the Irish Schools Junior Championship at Lucan. After the Senior team beat Blackrock College to claim the Irish title, the Juniors romped to a five-shot win with Fauthlegg’s David Mahon one of the heroes of the hour with a fine 77.
Playing off 11, Mahon’s nett score of 66 combined with Alex Browne’s 73 for a winning total of three under par 139. Browne (Waterford Castle), playing off 14, was the second score to count for De La Salle with Rory Milne’s (Faithlegg) 75 discarded.
Coleraine Grammar finished second on 144 while St Michael’s, Dublin were third on 148 and St Colman’s, Claremorris in fourth place.
Piper’s Hill and Rockport take honours
Piper’s Hill College in Kildare and Co Down’s Rockport School won the Irish Girls’ Schools Senior and Junior Cup Finals at Milltown.
Lauren Walsh, Fiona Behan and Isobel Gorey shot a combined 55 gross points for Piper’s Hill to edge out Ursuline College, Sligo’s Maeve Rooney, Niamh Cronin and Jenny Demmel by one point.
Walsh’s 32 points gave her the best gross and the Mary Nowlan Cup by a single point from Beth Coulter from Our Lady and St. Patrick’s College in Knock.
The Junior Cup was equally tight with Katie Webb and Molly O’Hara from Rockport School racking up 45 points to win by one from the Muckross Park College duo of Anna Foster and Kate Sheridan.
Lauren Kelly (Scoile na Trinnoide Naofa) and Shiofra Ward-O’Meara (Portumna Community School) who won the Senior and Junior best nett prizes with excellent scores of 42 and 41 points respectively.
Venues for ILGU Championships
The Irish Women’s, Girls’ and Seniors Close Championships will this year be hosted by Mullingar, Mallow and Bunclody Golf Clubs.
Mullingar Golf Club last hosted a National event when in 2008, Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell) overcame her sister Leona 4 and 3 to win Irish Girls’ Close Championship. The mid-Leinster parkland is no stranger to big events as they annually host their Mullingar Scratch Cup which boasts winners that include Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Padraig Harrington. The 2017 Irish Women’s Close will run from June 22nd to 25th.
The Irish Senior Women’s Close will return to Bunclody Golf and Fishing Club after being hosted there in 2012. Helen Jones (Royal Portrush) defeated Violet McBride (Belvoir Park) in an all-Ulster final that year, however Gertie McMullen (The Island) will be hoping to make it three in a row at Bunclody from July 4th to 7th.
Cork has not hosted an Irish Girls’ Close Championship since 2005 in which Danielle McVeigh (RCDL) won at Charleville Golf Club. However, this year will see it return to the Rebel County at Mallow Golf Club. Mallow, host to District Girls’ Championships and Inter-Club finals in recent years, will see the cream of Irish Girls Golf contest from July 19th to 22nd.
Wrist injury forces Maybin to retire
Former Alabama State University and Ballyclare star Gareth Maybin has retired from professional golf at the age of 36. Winner of the North of Ireland Amateur Championship in 2002, he excelled on the Hooters Tour, earned his Challenge Tour card on invitations in 2007 and went on to win the Qingdao Golf Open on the Challenge Tour the following year, graduating to the European Tour.
He played six full seasons on the main tour and competed in The British Open twice and the 2010 US Open before losing his card in 2014, then suffered a wrist injury in 2015 and relapsed on his return this year.
In announcing his decision to move on, Maybin admitted in a statement that the last few years had been challenging. “After a lot of consideration and thought, due to my ongoing wrist injury I have decided to retire from golf,” Maybin said in a statement on Twitter.
“The past few years have been challenging and allowed me to put a lot of things into perspective. I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my career it has meant a lot.”
