A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Closing date for Grange Dublin Boys championship
THE annual Allianz-sponsored Grange Dublin Boys golf championship takes place on Friday, August 12th.
Endorsed by Ryder Cup star Paul McGinley, who learned his golf at the top-rated Rathfarnham venue, the popular 36-holes strokes event is open to boys with a maximum 16 handicap on the day of the tournament. Restricted to 69 players, entries close on Friday, July 29th. Entries to Grange GC at (01) 4932889.
RECENTLY-crowned Irish champion Paula Grant from Lisburn GC will be part of the Irish team at the Girls’ Home Internationals to be played at Gullane No 2, Scotland, on August 3rd-5th.
The team will be captained by former international Niamh Kitching from Limerick and managed by Paula Reynolds from Seapoint, while Debbie Hanna will act as coach.
IRELAND: Jessica Carty (Holywood), Ariana Coyle Diez (Elm Park), Paula Grant (Lisburn), Hannah Henderson (Ballyclare), Olivia Mehaffey (Royal Co Down Ladies), Jean O’Driscoll (Muskerry), Chloe Ryan (Castletroy), Sinéad Sexton (Lahinch).
DAILY tickets for the Solheim Cup at Killeen Castle on September 23rd-25th are now on sale at Ticketmaster. Prices are: practice days, Tuesday and Wednesday, €15, Thursday, €20. Competitions days: Friday €40, with Saturday and Sunday priced at €50. Season tickets are available at €125.
Leona Maguire tops Solheim ranking
IRELAND’S Leona Maguire has moved to the top of the European Ping Junior Solheim Cup ranking after winning the individual strokeplay event at the European Ladies’ Amateur Team Championship at Golfclub Murhof in Graz, Austria.
The Irish girl leads from England’s Emily Taylor, who jumped into second place on the ranking after winning the individual strokeplay event at the concurrent European Girls’ Team Championship staged at Is Molas in Sardinia.
Maguire’s success helped her to leapfrog France’s Manon Gidali and her twin sister, Lisa, with just two counting events to go.
Denmark’s Daisy Nielson and England’s Charley Hull also moved into contention for places in the European Junior Solheim Cup team, to be staged at Knightsbrook, Co Meath, on September 20th-21st.
Europe’s leading girl golfers have just two more qualifying events – the European Individual Championship at Noordwijk, the Netherlands, on July 20th-23rd, and the Girls’ British Open Championship at Gullane, Scotland, on August 8th-12th – to make their claim.
TOP 12: 1 Leona Maguire (Ire) 180 points, 2 Emily Taylor (Eng) 100, 3 Manon Gidali (Fra) 97.50, 4 Lisa Maguire (Ire) 91.25, 5 Stefania Avanzo (It) 80, 6 Celine Boutier (Fra) 74.25, 7 Daisy Nielson (Den) 63.33, 8 Rocio Sanchez (Spn) 62.50, 9= Georgia Hall (Eng) 60, 9= Emilie Alonso (Fra) 60, 11 Antonio Scherer (Ger) 59.167, 12 Perrine Delacour (Fra) 50.
Donnellan beats Howell on countback
THE Lady Captain’s (Kate Sheehan) Prize at Courtown proved a memorable event for a number of people.
On the opening day of competition all the plaudits were for Sorcha Howell, who playing off a handicap of five, shot a course record of 71 gross, for a nett score of 66 to lead the way into the final 18 holes.
On day two, the good golf continued and there was a two-way tie at the top of the leaderboard, with Howell joined by Sarah Donnellan, playing off 27, on a score of 140. After the cards were counted victory went to Donnellan on a countback as her rounds of 72 and 68 were enough to claim the Lady Captain’s prize.
Donnellan and Howell were a long way clear of the rest of the field, with Ann Maria Furlong (28) third on 146, Mary Grogan (27) fourth on 148 and Maria Coone the gross winner. After her course record Howell also saw her handicap drop to four, the lowest in the club.
McGuinness hits back-to-back aces
WE’VE all dreamt of getting a hole in one, be it in practice or even in competition.
But what are the odds on getting back-to-back holes in one? Surely not possible. Well yes, as it happened only last week.
And achieving that rarest of feats was Greenore’s Emily McGuinness who had the distinction of holing successive tee shots at a par three during her practice round for the Lancôme Irish Girls Close Championship at Donegal.
McGuinness amazed seasoned male members of Donegal Golf Club who were on the elevated sixth tee box when she hit an eight-iron to the 119-yards par three, fifth hole. She watched her shot land on the green and roll straight into the hole – her first hole in one.
Emily then decided, as it was practice, that maybe the club would have been too much if it had missed the hole. So, she took out a nine-iron for the same shot.
And lo and behold, and surely defying the odds, McGuinness and the onlookers on the sixth tee and her playing partners were duly flabbergasted to see the ball once again roll straight in to the hole for her second hole in one, within a minute of each other.
Surely, something that must be a rarity in golf.
Leinster Alliance's Irish Times Shield
THE Leinster Alliance will hold the annual Irish Times Shield at Carton House on Sunday,, August 21st. This is for teams of four single-figure handicaps from any Leinster golf club and all enquires re entry should be directed to Michael Neary at 01-2827297 between 9.30am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
NEVER too young. Just 10 days ago during a juvenile competition at the Grange GC, Conor Furniss, age 10, had a hole in one on the 21st hole, measuring 117 metres.
GALWAY-born Alison Walshe continues to show good form in the US. After a 27th-place finish at the US Open to move up to 87th on the LPGA money list, she played in the ING New England Golf Classic on the LPGA Futures Tour and finished second, shooting 10-under par for 200. She is in Ireland this week and will play The Island ahead of final qualifying for the Womens British Open next Monday at Panmure GC. After that event she will be back for the Irish Open at Killeen Castle.
McMickan wins Leinster title
CHARLIE McMickan, a member of both Moate and Athlone, won the Titleist Footjoy Ireland- sponsored Leinster Boys’ Under-15 Close Championship at Ashbourne Golf Club last week.
McMickan took the title with a superb two-under-par round of 69, to give him a two-stroke margin over Caolan Kennedy from Forrest Little.
Kennedy enjoyed a terrific start with a hole in one on the second, which set him up for a highly-creditable level-par round of 71. However it was McMickan’s incredible 32 over the testing final nine holes that sealed the win for him. One shot back in third place was Marc Boucher from Carton House.
