Royal Curragh play hosts to Senior Cup finals
The ILGU District Final winners Killarney, Royal Portrush, The Heath, The Island and Roscommon are joined by three of the district runners-up; Royal County Down Ladies (RCDL), Lahinch and 2016 Champions Kilkenny for the All-Ireland Senior Cup finals at Royal Curragh Golf Club next weekend.
Kilkenny will be seeking success once again this year after clinching the 2016 All-Ireland title in a close battle with Cork. Mid Leinster Champions The Heath, who have drafted a strong team this year including the past two Mid Leinster Women’s Champions Molly Dowling and Meadhbh Doyle, will be confident travelling to the Kildare venue after overcoming the reigning champions in the District final.
Highest ranked in terms of combined handicap, the Killarney team includes Internationals Mairead Martin and Valerie Clancy as well as Senior International Mary Sheehy and Munster Interprovincial Kelly Brotherton.
East Leinster Champions for the past three years, The Island were Irish Senior Cup Champions in 2015. Top girls Internationals Lauren Walsh and 2016 Irish Senior Women’s Open Strokeplay champion Gertie McMullen formed the core of the North Dublin side at the District finals and while past International Gillian O’Leary is unavailable due to work commitments, Julie McCarthy returns for the All-Ireland finals before heading stateside for her freshman year at Auburn University.
Royal Portrush were victorious in the 2016 AIG Senior Foursomes and are not unfamiliar to All-Ireland success in Senior Cup either. The Ulster District Senior Cup final was not short on big names with Lucy Simpson, Naoimh Quigg, Mary MacLaren and Emma Forbes representing the Antrim side while 2017 Irish Women’s Close Champion Paula Grant alongside Danielle McVeigh, and Beth Coulter teeing-up for the Royal Co Down Ladies.
Lahinch and Roscommon complete the quarter final line up. Roscommon last represented Connacht in the All-Irelands in 2012 when they bowed out to Kilkenny in the quarter finals. The Lahinch side is led by a wealth of experience in Sinead Sexton and Sarah Cunningham, while up and coming Munster player Aine Donegan provides a strong number three for the Clare side.
Matches start at 8am on Friday morning.
Quarter-Finals - Friday 25th August - 8:00: Killarney v Kilkenny; 8:50: Roscommon v The Island; 9:40: The Heath v RCDL; 10:30: Lahinch v Royal Portrush. Semi-Finals - Friday 2.0pm. Final on Saturday at 9.0am.
Murray claims fifth Munster title
There was a dramatic finish to the Munster Mid Am, with Pat Murray from Clontarf winning his fifth title after a three-hole playoff at Newcastle West. Local man Brian Lenihan and four-time winner Pat Murray were both tied on two-over-par after 54 holes. Murray had rounds of 70, 71 and 74 while Leniahn shot 74, 71 and 70. The Newcastle West man dropped a shot on the 18th giving Murray an opportunity to win with a par on the last. Murray missed the tricky six-foot putt, meaning a three holes play-off was needed to decide the winner.
The first play-off hole was halved but Murray went one ahead on the 11th (second play-off hole) when his par beat Lenihan’s bogey. The third play-off hole was the ninth and Lenihan had a great recovery from the bunker to leave himself three feet for par. That forced Murray to get up and down from the edge of the green, and he did just that - becoming a five-time winner of the Munster Mid-Am Championship. Gary O’Flaherty (Cork) shot rounds of 75, 70 and 71 for level par 216 to take third place, Jim Carvill (70, 76, 71) from Banbridge took fourth place on 217. Simon Miskelly (Knock) was fifth and James McLoughlin (Portumna) won best nett.
Lencart following in Garcia’s footsteps
Portugal’s Pedro Lencart defeated defending champion Falko Hanisch 5 and 4 in the 36 holes final to win the Boys Amateur Championship at Nairn. Lencart, who won The R&A’s Junior Open in 2016, becomes the first player since Sergio Garcia to win both titles. He will now play in the Amateur Championship at Royal Aberdeen and Murcar Links, and also gains an exemption into Final Qualifying for the 147th Open as a result of his victory.
The 17-year-old teed off for the second round of the final six up on Hanisch after a blistering opening 18 holes that included nine birdies. Hanisch, who lifted the trophy at Muirfield in 2016, struggled to deal with Lencart and faced an uphill battle if he was to become the first player since 1930 to win back-to-back championships.
The German did not give up easily, however and threatened to stage a comeback when he reduced the deficit to just three holes with six holes to play. However, Lencart regained his composure quickly and moved four up again and closed out a 5 and 4 win on the 32nd hole.
Connemara’s Luke O’Neill was best of the Irish reaching the last 32. O’Neill beat France’s Elliot Anger by one hole to clinch his place alongside Athenry’s David Kitt and Alan Hill in the last 64 while Carton House’s Jack Doherty lost 3 and 1 to George Holland in the preliminary round.
Only O’Neill survived, however, beating Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg 3 and 2 as Kitt lost 2 and 1 to Austria’s Claus Jäger and Hill fell by 3 and 2 to Northamptonshire County’s Benjamin Jones. O’Neill lost out to Foxhills’ Aadam Syed by just one hole in the last 32.
Humphreys wins the Girls Amateur Championship
England’s Lily May Humphreys won the Girls British Open Amateur Championship at Enville, defeating Norway’s Emilie Overas 7 and 5 in the 18-hole final to seal the biggest win of her amateur career.
Following her triumph, the 15-year-old has earned an exemption into Final Qualifying for the Ricoh Women’s British Open next year and will aim to secure a place in the starting field at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
Humphreys surged into a four holes lead after just four holes with birdies at the second and fourth and the 2017 European Young Masters champion went five up with another birdie at the tenth. Humphreys closed out the match on the 13th after Overas conceded the hole, sealing a memorable win to lift the Girls Amateur title.
Ireland’s Lauren Walsh from Castlewarden and Valerie Clancy from Killarney made it to the second round before going out. Walsh beat Scotland’s Hazel MacGarvie at the 19th in round one but lost to Belgium’s Clarisse Louis by 3 and 2 in the next round. Clancy beat Denmark’s Cecilie Nielsen 3 and 2 but fell to Mayka Hoogeboom of The Netherlands 2 and 1 in the last 32.
Kitty McCann trophy for Lanigan
Kate Lanigan from Hermitage finished the 2017 girls domestic season with a win in the Mid Leinster Kitty McCann Trophy in Kilkenny by three shots from Woodstock’s Aine Donegan.
Lanigan carded rounds of 75 and 78 for 153 with Donegan next on 156 after a 79 and 77. Sara Byrne from Douglas took third place on countback from Emma Forbes from Royal Portrush after both finished on 159. Corrine Mulrooney (21 handicap) from Enniscrone won the nett with 141.
Byrne second in Scottish under-14 championship
Joseph Byrne from Baltinglass took second place at the Scottish Boys under-14 Championship, finishing just one shot behind the winner in Crail.
Byrne, the current Leinster under-14 champion, finished the two-day event at one-under-par 143 following rounds of 73 and 70. Italian Sebastiano Frau took the title with rounds of 72 and 70 for 142. Scotland’s Aidan O’Hagan was two shots back in third place on 145 after rounds of 71 and 74.
Zak Collins from Douglas finished in a tie for 17th place.
Foleys best in Father and Son
David and Hugh Foley won the 28th-annual World Invitational Father and Son Tournament at Waterville Golf Links from a field of 94 teams from 12 countries: USA, Canada, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Spain, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Brazil and South Africa.
Playing out of The Royal Dublin Golf Club, the Foley duo finished at 19-under-par to win the championship division handily by five shots over the second place team of Ralph and Chad Woodman from Portsmouth Country Club and Old Mill Golf Club respectively. The teams of John and Tom Caravolas from Charles River Country Club and Gene and Joseph playing out of Connecticut's Stanwich Golf Club, tied for third at 13-under-par. The Foleys', compiling an impressive 18 birdies over the 54 holes of competition, also won the gross division for the second year in a row.
McGrane and McGeady top leaderboard at Ballykisteen
Damien McGrane and Michael McGeady (Seamus Duffy Golf Academy) shared the spoils at the Pierse Motors Ballykisteen Pro-Am. The duo carded rounds of five under par 67 at Ballykisteen Golf & Country Club to edge out Mark O’Sullivan (Piltown Driving Range) by a shot.
McGrane has now won nine of his last 11 events on the PGA in Ireland circuit. Starting his round at the first he playing the opening seven holes in one over par but he sparked into life around the turn when he birdied the eighth, eagled the ninth and then birdied the 10th at the Co. Limerick venue. He also added two more birdies on his way home to take the lead in the clubhouse.
McGeady went to the turn in one under par courtesy of a birdie at the second. He also found the back nine easier to score on and picked up shots at the second, 16th and 17th before wrapping up his round with a fifth birdie of the day at his closing hole - the par four first.
It was McGeady’s first win since the Irish PGA Assistants’ Championship at the start of July.
The team prize was won by Brian McCormack Jnr (Edenderry Golf Academy) and his amateur partners Adrian Usher, Denis Ryan and Martin Dineen.
