Shay’s Short Game: Marshall takes the spoils at Headfort

Lisburn’s Aaron Marshall won the Leinster Boys Amateur Open Championship at Headfort New Course in a three-hole playoff against Edward Walsh from Mallow.

Two strokes behind Walsh and Castle’s Robert Moran with a round to play, Marshall birdied the last on the New Course to card a two-under-par 70 and match Walsh (72) on one-under-par 215, one stroke ahead of Laytown and Bettystown’s Alex Maguire, who won the Under 17 title.

It was Marshall who proved best when, leading by one shot on the third hole, he hit a magnificent seven iron 160 yards from a fairway bunker to a few feet from the flag and holed the putt to win the title by three shots.

Dundalk’s Eoin Murphy shot a 70 and Hilton Templepatrick’s Reece Black a best-of-the-day 68 to leave them tied fourth, three shots outside the playoff on 218.

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Graeme McDowell falls back at the Texas Open

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Wilson and Ryan third in Scotland

Lurgan’s Annabel Wilson and Castletroy’s Chloe Ryan tied for third place in the Helen Holm Women’s Scottish Open at Royal Troon over the weekend. Sweden’s Linnea Grant, 17, carded rounds of 71, 66 and closed with a level par 72 on the Old Course to win by five shots from Scotland’s Shannon McWilliam on seven-under-par 209. William signed for 69, 70 and 75 for214.

Wilson, who won the Cartier Trophy on Paris last week, shot rounds of 73, 68 and a three over 75 to finish in a five-way tie for third with Ryan 72, 72 and 72, Sweden’s Amanda Linner, England’s Holly Muse and Germany’s Alexandra Forsterling.

Winner Grant picked up valuable Junior Solheim Cup points, as she seeks to qualify for the 2017 event at Des Moines Golf & Country Club in Iowa. And so did Wilson, who has moved into the top 10 in the rankings.

The leading six players from the Ping Junior Solheim Cup ranking following the European Girls’ Team Championship and European Ladies’ Team Championship by July 12th will earn automatic picks before the captain adds six wildcards.

Other Irish scores included Paula Grant (Lisburn) 73 75 74 for 222; Ciara Caey (Hermitage) 73 78 73 for 224; Valerie Clancy (Killarney) 78 73 74 for 225; Mairead Martin (Kanturk) 73 77 75 for 225 and Sinead Sexton (Lahinch) 77 75 76 for 228.

Castletroy Scratch Cup open for entries

The Castletroy Scratch Cup, one of the oldest in the country, will take place on May 20th. Sponsored by the Bank of Ireland and first competed for in 1948, the Castletroy Trophy has attracted the cream of Irish golf over the years.

As a Munster Senior Golf “Order of Merit” tournament, results in the Castletroy Senior Scratch Cup are included in the selection criteria for the Munster team in the Senior Golf Interprovincial Series. The course, measuring almost 7,000 yards, consistently offers a stiff challenge to any player on the senior scratch cup circuit.

Last year’s winner was, Munster Provincial stalwart, Gary O’Flaherty from Cork GC with rounds of 71 and 70. Former winners include Niall Gorey, Eddie McCormack, Mark Shanahan and Alan Thomas, not to mention the illustrious names of JB Carr, Liam Higgins, Vincent Nevin and Des Smyth.

Entries to Castletroy Golf Club at (061) 335 753 or golf@castletroygolfclub.ie.

The handicap limit is four and confined to the lowest 72 entrants. Gunshot starts at 9am and 2.30pm on the day. The entry fee of €30 includes lunch. Closing date for entries is Thursday, 18th May at 3pm.

Moves for World Handicap System

The R&A and the USGA are working with golf’s handicapping authorities to develop a single World Handicap System for the game.

More than 15 million golfers in over 80 countries presently have a handicap, a numerical index long used as a measure of a golfer’s potential skill level. Handicaps are currently delivered through six different systems around the world.

The aim of the proposed handicap system is to adopt a universal set of principles and procedures that will apply all over the world.

An extensive review of existing handicap systems administered by Golf Australia, the Council of National Golf Unions (CONGU) in Great Britain and Ireland, the European Golf Association (EGA), the South African Golf Association (SAGA), the Argentine Golf Association (AAG) and the United States Golf Association (USGA) has been undertaken.

Golf organisations from different parts of the world have also been engaged with the current handicap authorities for the past two years to help shape the proposed system, which takes into account the many different golf cultures and most common formats of play. Research conducted to date has also reviewed systems and best practices inherent to handicapping, such as course rating and administration.

A joint committee led by The R&A and the USGA has been formed, including representatives from each handicap authority as well as the Japan Golf Association and Golf Canada. The joint committee plans to announce its proposals later this year.

Solheim Cup 2019 date announced

The 2019 Solheim Cup between Europe and the USA will take place at the world-famous PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles in Scotland. Scotland won the right to host the Solheim Cup in 2019 after an extensive and very competitive bidding process, coming out on top of a list of ten countries who submitted expressions of interest in hosting the event.

Significant planning and preparation for one of the world’s foremost sporting events has been under way for some time and now the dates of the event have been confirmed after careful deliberation between key partners including VisitScotland, Gleneagles, the Ladies European Tour (LET), the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and IMG.