McIlroy edges ThorpIreland gained some consolation after being edged out by Denmark in the inaugural European Nations Cup (formerly the Sherry Cup) men's team championship in an exciting finish at Royal Sotogrande Golf Club, Spain, yesterday.
Denmark took the title by one shot from Ireland and England but there was individual success for teenager Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy hit a nine iron to six feet and holed the birdie putt at the 72nd hole to tie with Norway's Marius Thorp - winner of the British Open Championship amateur silver medal at Hoylake last summer - for the individual championship. Then the confident McIlroy won the first hole of a sudden-death play-off by hitting his approach shot to three feet for a winning birdie.
Shane Lowry and Simon Ward shared 14th place on 293 with Lowry shooting 76, 72, 75 and 70, while Ward had rounds of 71, 73, 76 and 73. Niall Kearney shot 74, 77, 75 and 74 for a total of 300.
In the team event, the Danes totalled 863 to Ireland and England's 864. Wales were sixth on 871 and Scotland finished joint ninth of 16 with a final total of 883.
Scratch Cup dates
The dates for the various Scratch Cups for the 2007 ladies golf season have been confirmed. The opening one takes place at Cork Golf Club on Saturday April 7th, with the final one scheduled for The Curragh on Sunday July 22nd.
Entries for the Ford Ladies Scratch Cup, which is a 36-hole stroke event, close this Friday, March 30th and the handicap limit is nine. Entries can be sent to Valerie Fitzgerald, Cork Golf Club, Little Island, Co Cork. Forms can be downloaded from the ILGU website. Swipe cards will be necessary on April 7th, which should be noted by all entrants. The event will be played on a shotgun-start format at 9.00am and 2.45pm.
The full list of Scratch Cup events for the season is: April 7th - Cork; April 15th - Royal Co Down; April 28th - Lahinch; April 28th - Royal Portrush (Valley course); May 6th - Hermitage; May 13th - Royal Portrush; May 27th - Roscommon; July 8th - Castletroy and July 22nd - The Curragh.
McVeigh on high
Danielle McVeigh, the 2005 Irish girls' champion from Kilkeel, has scored her first win on the US women's college golf circuit. The occasion was the Donnis Thompson Invitational at Kaneohe Klipper Golf Club, Honolulu, Hawaii. Danielle, a first-year student at Texas A&M University - the Aggies - birdied two of her last three holes in the 54-hole tournament to tie with Gerina Mendoza (Texas El Paso) at the top of the leaderboard on one-over-par 217.
Then McVeigh holed another birdie putt, this one of over 15 feet, for a winning birdie at the first sudden-death play-off hole. McVeigh's victory with scores of 74, 74 and 69 helped Texas A&M to come from behind to pip Arizona, the favourites, for the team title.
Browne motors in
Paul Browne of Laytown and Bettystown took advantage of the bright but breezy conditions at Co Louth GC to win the BMW-sponsored Hilary outing on Sunday. Browne shot 69 off a six handicap to win by a shot from Greenore professional Robert Giles and local Paul Reilly.
Browne won the nett prize from O'Reilly with Michael Murnane of Royal Dublin third on 71. Dara Lernihan of the Castle had nines of 36 and 35 for a one-under-par 71 to win the gross, while Giles took the professional prize.
Local knowledge proved vital in the team event where Owen Brannigan, Michael J O'Brien and Gerry Kelly, all from Co Louth, won with a score of 63. The final outing of the Hilary season is on Thursday April 5th at Sutton GC with a shotgun start at 2.30pm. For timesheet call Simon Russell 086-8571866.
Waterville event
The 18th Annual World Invitational Father and Son Golf Tournament will be held at Waterville Golf Links from August 8th-12th 2007. The 2007 field will comprise 90 teams from all over the world and is fully subscribed with a waiting list in operation. The event will be played over four days, a practice day and three days of tournament play. The format is a better ball stableford competition with 75 per cent of official handicaps permitted. After 36 holes there will be a cut, with the top 24 teams competing on the final day in the championship flight, while the remaining teams compete in the runner-up Plate competition.
The 2006 tournament was won by Robert and Rudi Butler from Adare Golf Club in Limerick, who emerged victorious with an overall score of 120 points. Dermot Desmond is the only father to have won the tournament with each of his three sons Brett, Ross and Derry.
Carton's Master class
To celebrate the 71st US Masters, Carton House GC will run a US Masters Open Week from Monday next April 2nd to Friday April 6th. Players will have a choice to play either the O'Meara or Montgomerie courses.
The format for the week is a two to score event on Tuesday April 3rd; Singles stableford on Wednesday April 4th; Scramble on Thursday April 5th; Two to score on Friday April 6th. Entry is just a50 per-person per-round and includes complimentary range balls and fantastic prizes on the day of play.
Both Mark O'Meara and Colin Montgomerie are to participate in this year's US Masters - Mark O'Meara a previous Masters Champion won the prestigious tournament in 1998. To book your tee time call Golf Reservation on 01 6517720 or email golfreservations@cartonhouse.com
Faldo Series
THE Faldo Series Ireland Championship 2007 will this year take place at Ballyliffin Golf Club in Donegal from May 24th to 26th. The Championship is open to amateur golfers born in 1986 or later who have not been already accepted or participated in a Faldo Series tournament in 2007. A maximum of 70 competitors will be selected to play a tournament of 54 holes scratch strokeplay. Within each category there are six age categories Mixed U-21, Boys U-18, Boys U-17, Boys U-16, Boys U-15 and Girls U-18. Membership of the Faldo Series is €70.
Closing date for entries is 9.0am on Monday April 30th and a ballot will be held soon after that deadline to determine the successful applicants. Entry forms are available from Ballyliffin Golf Club, Ballyliffin, Inishowen, Co Donegal. Full details, and entry conditions, are available from the club by email: info@ballyliffingolfclub.com or phone 074 9376119 or fax 074 9376672.
Boys team named
The Ireland Boys' team to play Wales in the annual fixture at Rosslare GC on April 3rd-4th is: Chris Drumm (Rosslare), Colin Featherweather (Knock), Stephen Healy (Claremorris), Gary McGrane (Royal Dublin), Rory McNamara (Headfort), Craig Martin (Kilkenny), James Patterson (Knock), David Ruddy (Thurles). The team is captained by Dick Cusack from Greystones with Dominic Murphy from Kilkenny as team manager.
Ireland will send a three-man team of Paul Cutler (Portstewart), Luke Lennox (Moyola Park) and Garth Boyd (Donagahdee) to the Peter McEvoy Trophy at Copt Heath in England on April 18th and 19th.
Robinson is captain
Ireland's representatives at the 2007 Under-16 Scottish Open Strokeplay on April 5th and 6th will be Tara Gribben of Warrenpoint, Emma O'Driscoll from Ballybunion and Seapoint's Carla Reynolds. Each competitor plays 18 holes strokeplay on two consecutive days over the Craigielaw links.
Last year Ireland's representatives performed very well with Holli Snelling (Killarney) finishing a highly creditable fourth while Stephanie Meadow (Royal Portrush) finished seventh.
This year's side will be captained by Dun Laoghaire's Nicky Robinson.
Calling Loreto
Calling on all Loreto past pupils . . . On Friday, April 27th the annual Loreto golf outing will take place at Hermitage Golf Club. The timesheet is available from tomorrow, Wednesday March 28th. For further details call Judy Byrne Murray on 086 3611788.
World Rankings
1 Tiger Woods 20.03
2 Jim Furyk 8.30
3 Phil Mickelson 7.23
4 Ernie Els 6.74
5 Adam Scott 6.68
6 Henrik Stenson 6.58
7 Vijay Singh 6.30
8 Geoff Ogilvy 6.11
9 Retief Goosen 5.47
10 Padraig Harrington 5.13
Others:64, Darren Clarke; 96, Paul McGinley.
European Tour
1. Henrik Stenson (Sweden) € 1,534,069
2. Retief Goosen (SA) € 787,739
3. Paul Casey (Britain) € 725,243
4. Yang Yong-eun (S Korea) € 714,888
5. Ernie Els (S Africa) € 658,968
6. Nick O'Hern (Australia) € 618,147
7. Trevor Immelman (SA) € 595,154
8. Anton Haig (SA) € 428,333
9. Niclas Fasth (Sweden) € 397,829
10. Sergio Garcia (Spain) € 394,557
Other:14. Padraig Harrington€ 302,084
