In his capacity as professional at Royal Dublin, Leonard Owens has gained an enviable reputation for guiding young players into the paid ranks at club level. Now he is ready to show yet another young player the ropes. The suitable candidate will be ambitious and capable of playing to category one standard. Those interested in a career in the professional game should phone Owens at Royal Dublin (01-8336477).
Holders on move
Holders Ballinascorney will be defending their Best Cup crown at a new venue when the competition begins at the end of the month. Now at Oldfield, in Rathfarnham, the defending champions will take on Glen of the Downs in the first round.
BEST CUP: Cradockstown v Hollystown; Deer Park v Skerries; Dublin Mountain v Castle; Castlewarden v Elmgreen; Cold Winters v Hermitage; Glen of the Downs v Ballinascorney; Kilcock v Killeen; Clontarf v Elm Park; Milltown v Donabate; Killiney v Grange; Kilmashogue v Swords; Bray v Sutton; Rush v Hazel Grove; Bodenstown v Foxrock; Edmondstown v Beaverstown; Black Bush v Balbriggan; Charlesland v Powerscourt; Newlands v Dun Laoghaire; Hollywood Lakes v Delgany; Stackstown v Turvey; Luttrellstown v Slade Valley; Balcarrick v K Club; Glencullen v Malahide; Howth v Lucan; St Margaret's v St Anne's; Rathfarnham v Westmanstown; Old Conna v Celbridge/Elm Hall; Beech Park v Greystones; Naas v Ashbourne; Corrstown v Forrest Little; Island v Kilternan; Woodbrook v Boystown.
Classic chance
The Headway Ireland Golf Classic 2001 will take place at Luttrellstown Castle Golf and Country Club on June 8th. Headway Ireland is a charity that exists to assist people who have suffered head injuries and their families. The event at Luttrellstown will be for teams of four with a entry fee of £600 per team that also includes meals. Places on the time sheet are available at 01-8729222.
Early bird best
Dawn raider Richard O'Farrell set a target no one could match at Kilternan on Sunday. One of the first to tee off, O'Farrell shot an 80 gross off a 24 handicap for a 56 nett to comfortably win class three. O'Farrell's 56 was eight shots better than runner-up Martin Byrne while Niall Murphy took class one with a 62 and Henry O'Brien class two with a 64.
Another player in the 50s was Des McGarry at Knockanally. McGarry, off a 17 handicap, shot a nett 59 to win the medal by three shots from Mick Carey and Paul Brennan. Captains were also up with the leaders on a weekend of low scoring. Kevin Carroll, the Arklow captain, won the singles with 37 points from Jimmy Breslin, Dermot Murphy and Jimmy Lacey. Woodbrook's captain, Malachy Martin, was pushed into second place on the back nine by Ciaran Blair. Both players finished on 37.
Connolly double
Portmarnock'S Enda Connolly cleaned up in Sunday's BMW-sponsored Hilary outing at County Louth. The five handicapper took the top prize in the individual competition and joined Sutton members Ryan Hannon (5) and Andrew Toomey (6) to gain the team prize with a score of 63. Connolly won the singles event by just one shot, with his nett score of 67, just enough to beat The Island's John Grant (5), with Val Smyth (Co Louth) and Clem Walshe (St Anne's) in third and fourth place respectively on 70.
The best gross prize went to Seamus Rohan (3) of Naas, with 72, while Laytown and Bettystown's Bobby Browne was the best of the professionals.
Paper tigers
Revenge was oh so sweet as The Irish Times golf team proved to be the top dogs when they won the recent Shell Writers' Trophy at the K Club in Straffan. Having gone down narrowly to their colleagues from the Irish Independent in last year's event, The Irish Times side proved to be far too good this time around winning in some style and leaving their Abbey Street colleagues heading home with their tails between their legs. For the record the victory margin was 19 points.
The pearl of Gort
Finishing off in style, that was Gort's Josie Collins as she claimed victory in the Christy O'Connor Junior Oyster Pearl Golf Society outing to Galway Bay. The 25 handicapper last week secured victory in the society's final outing of the year to Christy Junior's own club. And she was to have double reason to celebrate her victory, as it helped her to claim the society's Golfer of the Year crown too.
Despite difficult weather conditions 96 women turned up to play at Galway Bay and Collins' total of 34 points was enough to push Mary Madden (6, Ballinasloe) into second place, but only after a count back over the last six holes.
Rita McGolderick (6) from Enniscrone took the gross prize at Galway Bay with 20 points, while the home club's Katherine Cahill (29) took the visitors' prize using her local knowledge to great effect to shoot the best score of the day - 36 points.
Close in Killarney
It has been an excellent couple of months for the Lady Captain of Beaufort golf club in Killarney. Over the winter months, the club have been running their Winter League and June O'Sullivan has just been crowned winner. However, it was a very close run thing, as O'Sullivan's total of 37 points was just one better than second-placed Catherine O'Donoghue (20), with third place going to another of the regular club prize winners, Laura Furlong, who had 25 points.
But O'Sullivan's winning didn't stop there as the 31 handicapper also proved too good for the rest of the field in last week's nine-hole re-entry event, where once again she beat O'Donoghue, this time shooting 23 points to win by five, with Liz Galwey (39) third on 16 points.
