Galway second in European Club Trophy
Irish Senior Cup champions Galway Golf Club finished second to French counterparts La Boulie in the 2017 European Men’s Club Trophy at Golf du Médoc Resort in France. The trio of Ronan Mullarney, Keith O’Neill and Joe Lyons finished ten strokes behind the French club on two-under par 424.
Mullarney carded rounds of 68, 73 and 71 for a one under par total of 212 to finish sixth in the individual race. O’Neill shot rounds of 72, 77 and 69 for 218 and a share of 18th place, while Lyons signed for 74, 71, 74 for 219 to edge out City of Newcastle for second place by a stroke on two-under.
La Boulie completed a wire-to-wire win, matching Ireland’s 140 on the final day to finish on 12-under-par 414 with Ireland on 424 and England in third place on 425.
Belgium’s Adrian Dumont De Chassart with 70, 71 and 67 and Frderic Lacroix from France with 67, 72, and 69 shared the individual award on 208 with Iceland’s Aron Juliusson third on 210 after 68, 74 and 68.
Senior panel in Girona
Seven members of the GUI Senior Panel will travel to PGA Catalunya Resort, Girona, Spain on November 28th for a four-day coaching session with national coach Neil Manchip. The players selected are: Colm Campbell (Warrenpoint), Tiarnán McLarnon (Massereene), Mark Power (Kilkenny), Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk), Jamie Fletcher (Warrenpoint), Ronan Mullarney (Galway) & James Sugrue (Mallow).
Meanwhile, Alex Gleeson (Castle) and Robin Dawson (Tramore) have been selected to represent Ireland at the South American Amateur Championship at Martindale Buenos Aires Argentina from 13th to 16th January 2018.
Eight players have been selected to compete at the South African Strokeplay Championship at Pecanwood Golf Club from 6th to 9th February 2018 and the African Amateur Championship at Glendower Golf Club from 13th to 16th February 2018.
The players selected are: Colm Campbell (Warrenpoint), Robin Dawson (Tramore), Alex Gleeson (Castle), Tiarnán McLarnon (Massereene), Peter O’Keeffe (Douglas), Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk), Jonathan Yates (Naas) & Barry Anderson (The Royal Dublin).
Maguire ninth as Duke take honours
Leona Maguire helped Duke University to victory as the Landfall Tradition at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, North Carolina, was reduced to a 36 holes event due to inclement weather and unplayable conditions. Through 36 holes, the Blue Devils led by one stroke at 14-under-par, 562, and notched a second straight one-stroke win over second-ranked Alabama (563). Michigan State (574), South Carolina (577) and Oklahoma State (580) rounded out the top five.
Maguire finished ninth in the individual event after rounds of 72 and 70 for 140 while her team mate Ana Belac won with rounds of 66 and 69.
LET Team named
European Tour playing captain Gwladys Nocera will be joined by Melissa Reid, Florentyna Parker, Annabel Dimmock, Felicity Johnson, Olafia Kristinsdottir, Joanna Klatten, Holly Clyburn and Carly Booth against teams from the LPGA of Japan (JLPGA), Korean LPGA Tour (KLPGA) and Australian Ladies Professional Golf Inc. (ALPG) for the Queens to take place at Miyoshi Country Club near Nagoya in Japan, on December 1st-3rd 2017.
Nocera, a 14-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, commented: “I cannot wait to return to Miyoshi Country Club for The Queens presented by Kowa. Having competed on the LET team in 2015, I can tell you that this is one of the most thrilling events in women’s professional golf.”
The Queens is a three-day match play event featuring four teams of nine players. Each team shall be allocated points in accordance with its respective match results, with 2 points for a win, 1 point for a half and 0 points for a loss.
The format of play for day one will be eight fourball matches. Day two will feature nine singles matches. The first and second day’s play will be known as “Qualifying Rounds.”
Grehan continues good form
Stuart Grehan had seven threes on his card as he fired a four-under 67 to win the gross in the TaylorMade sponsored Tuesday Winter Series outing at Portmarnock Links. The Tullamore man went out in four-under 32 and dropped just one shot all day.
He finished three strokes clear of David Carey, who shot a one-under 70 as he prepares for the Second Stage of the European Tour Qualifying School later this month.
Galgorm Castle’s Michael Dallat was third with a 72 on a day when 72 players battled a strong southerly wind and five PGA members from Holland also took part, two of them narrowly missing out on the prizes after 72s.
Kilcock five-handicapper Ciaran Campbell finished bogey-double bogey but still won the nett with a 66, edging out Elm Park’s Sean Kearns by one stroke with Royal Dublin’s Hugh Foley third off plus one with a 71
Carnoustie the prize for nine-hole winners
A trip to Carnoustie, host venue for The British Open Championship in 2018, is on offer for the regional winners of golf’s Nine-Hole Championship. Open to male and female golfers, this two-person team event provides an opportunity for players to represent their club at one of the game’s greatest venues.
Participating clubs must submit an entry form to the ILGU & GUI on or before May 28th 2018. Entrants must have qualified to represent the club through a legitimate club competition along the lines specified in the entry form.
Any club that does not currently have a CONGU SSS rating for nine holes must complete application for SSS rating prior to March 1st 2018.
Four designated regional finals will determine the teams that shall qualify for the grand final in Carnoustie on Saturday, July 14th.
Lin Yuxin books Masters place
China’s Lin Yuxin, 17, won the ninth Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Wellington Golf Club to secure spots in the 2018 Masters Tournament and The 147th Open at Carnoustie. In front of large crowds, the left-hander birdied the 17th hole and eagled 18 to card a six-under-par 65 and finish 14-under, three ahead of compatriot Andy Zhang (67), who was rewarded with a place in The Open Qualifying Series.
