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Irish pair named on Curtis Cup team
Two Irish players have been named in the Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup team to face the USA. Paula Grant from Lisburn and Olivia Mehaffey from Royal Co Down Ladies will travel to Quaker Ridge, New York, to face the Americans from June 8th-10th.
The B&I side will defend the historic trophy after securing an 11½-8½ win over the United States at Dun Laoghaire Golf Club two years ago. An eight-player team and one non-travelling reserve (Ireland’s Annabel Wilson) have been selected for the 2018 match with five players from England featuring alongside the two Irishwomen and one Scot.
The team includes 16-year-old Lily May Humphreys who won the 2018 Helen Holm Championship at Royal Troon last week to add to the Girls British Open Amateur Championship and English Women’s Amateur Championship titles she won last year.
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Mehaffey and Alice Hewson will make their second appearances in the Curtis Cup after featuring in the winning side at Dun Laoghaire in 2016.
The B&I team: India Clyburn (21, Woodhall Spa, England), Lily May Humphreys (16, Stoke-by-Nayland, England), Annabell Fuller (15, Roehampton, England), Sophie Lamb (20, Clitheroe, England), Paula Grant (24, Lisburn, Ireland), Shannon McWilliam (18, Aboyne, Scotland), Alice Hewson (20, Berkhamsted, England), Olivia Mehaffey (20, Royal County Down Ladies, Ireland). Non-travelling reserve: Annabel Wilson (17, Lurgan, Ireland).
Last hole triple bogey costs Coulter
A disappointing triple bogey eighth at the final hole cost Ireland’s Beth Coulter victory in the R and A Under-16 Girls Open Championship at Fulford Golf Club. Coulter had looked set for a wire-to-wire victory in York, leading by a stroke with the par-5 18th to play, only to go out of bounds after her second shot hit a tree leading to a triple bogey. Scotland’s Hannah Darling holed a closing 40-foot birdie putt to seal a dramatic victory in the inaugural Girls event.
Darling had applied the pressure after a closing two-under-par round of 72, only one of two players to post under par on a breezy final day, had given her the clubhouse lead on a total of four-under-par. In challenging conditions, the 14-year-old fired four birdies in the last 10 holes to make a surge up the leaderboard.
The Scottish player looked on as Coulter’s hopes ended in disappointment after signing off for final round of 78 to finish two strokes back on two-under-par and land Darling another championship win to add to the three domestic titles she claimed in 2017.
Switzerland’s Elena Moosmann posted a three-over-par 77 to finish on level par in third place.
Coulter held a two-shot lead from Finland’s Kerttu Hiltunen and Moosmann overnight but proceeded to drop four strokes in the opening seven holes to give the chasing pack hope.
But with Moosmann making back-to-back double bogeys at the 6th and the 7th in the breezy conditions and Hiltunen also struggling, Coulter stayed in control. Moosmann moved to within one behind after a hat-trick of birdies from the 8th, but Coulter’s second eagle of the week at the par-5 11th hole appeared decisive until a pulled drive at the last led to her troubles.
Coulter said, “It was a bit of a rollercoaster all the way round. Coming down the last, I wasn’t scoreboard watching so I didn’t know how Hannah was doing. I was actually standing over the ball and said ‘don’t hit the tree and go out of bounds’ and that’s exactly what I did. It was maybe a wee bit too risky, I should have played out for par. I’ve just got to learn from it and get on with it.
There was consolation for Coulter when she claimed the prize for the Under 14 section by four strokes from Italy’s Charlotte Cattaneo. England’s Rosie Bee Kim, the youngest competitor in the field at only 10-years-old, parred the last three holes to win the Under 12 section by a stroke from Grace Crawford of Scotland.
Maguire claims 10th collegiate title
Leona Maguire beat Duke team-mate Jaravee Boonchant at the third extra hole to win the ACC Women’s Golf Championship for the third time in four years and capture her 10th collegiate title.
The Irish international birdied the 18th to force a playoff, after rounds of 67, 70 and 73 in wind and driving rain at Grandover Resort’s East Couse in Greensboro, North Carolina, to join Thailand native Boonchant on six-under 210.
Duke had already secured the team title but it was the Irish star, now in her last month as an amateur golfer, who claimed her 10th individual win for Duke, her first in 2018 and her third this season with a par at the third extra hole.
Boonchant carded 71, 67 and 72 with another Duke player Ana Belac in third place on 214 after shooting 70, 74 and 70. Lisa Maguire finished on 229 after signing for rounds of 74, 76 and 79.
Gleeson leads six-man squad at Chantilly
The Golfing Union of Ireland has selected a six-man squad to compete at the French International Amateur Open for the Murat Cup at Chantilly from May 25th to 27th.
Castle’s Alex Gleeson, runner-up at the West of Ireland and tied second at the European Nations Cup, is named in the squad alongside Robin Dawson (Tramore), Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk), Jonathan Yates (Naas), Rowan Lester (Hermitage) and Tiarnan McLarnon (Massereene).
Dawson is Ireland’s highest ranked player in the field. Rowan Lester is a winner three times already this season with Texas Wesleyan on the American collegiate circuit.
Four more Irish players make the trip to France - Warrenpoint’s Colm Campbell, Galway’s Ronan Mullarney, Jack Pierse from Portmarnock and Mallow’s James Sugrue are also competing in Chantilly.
The format for the French amateur is 72-hole stroke play with 36 holes played on the final day. The top 40 and ties progress after the second round. Kevin Murray (Tramore) is Ireland’s team manager for the event.
Rathmore Grammar take ILGU Girls title
Rathmore Grammar claimed the ILGU Irish Schools Senior Cup as Mount Anville lifted the Junior Cup at Milltown. Ten teams won District honours and the right to represent their schools in the finals.
Rathmore Grammar (Co. Down), Laurel Hill (Co. Limerick), Alexandra College (Dublin), Loreto (Kilkenny) and St. Joseph’s Secondary School, (Co. Mayo) contest the Senior Cup.
And it was Rathmore Grammar who prevailed with Ciara Brennan an Olivia McCrystal carding a combined 48 points to win the title by five points from Loreto Kilkenny's Jan Browne, Katie Keenan and Niamh Glynn with Ciara also winning the Mary Nowlan Cup for best gross with 26 points.
Sullivan Upper School (Co. Down), Scoile na Trínóide Naofa Doon (Co. Limerick), Mount Anville (Dublin), Loreto (Kilkenny) and Portumna Community School (Galway) competed in the Junior Cup event with victory going to Mount Anville’s Sarah O’Brien, Caroline McGrath and Laura Fleming - who are all members of Elm Park Golf Club - with 43 points.
Victory for Leonard in Ivy League Championship
Killiney’s Eoin Leonard clinched the biggest win of his collegiate career when he won the Ivy League Men’s Championship after a playoff at Stonewall in Pennsylvania, helping Yale to the team title.
A former Leinster Boys champion, it was his fourth senior win following that record-breaking, wire-to-wire victory in the Boyd Quaich at St Andrews last year.
Tied for first with teammate James Nicholas the recent Yale Spring Invitational, Leonard got up and down from a fairway bunker on the 18th for par and a one-under 69 to tie with Nicholas again on nine-over 219.
He then went on to win at the second tie hole after Yale carded a tournament-low score of 282 in Sunday’s third and final round to win the conference championship by 22 strokes from Dartmouth.
Yale's Teddy Zinsner finished in a tie for fifth at 12-over while senior captain Will Bernstein tied for 10th to help Yale to its first Ivy League Championship since 2011.
Next up for the Bulldogs is the NCAA Regionals from May 14-16th with a spot in the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship on the line.
O’Flaherty again best at Lee Valley
Defending champion Gary O’Flaherty closed with a level par 72 to win the Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup for the third time in seven years. The Cork golfer opened with a 75 but then fired an eight-under-par 64 to open up a two-shot lead over Galway’s Ronan Mullarney
Tougher conditions on the final day prevented the chasing bunch from closing the gap and O’Flaherty’s 72 was good enough for a four-shot win over Massereene’s Tiarnan McLarnon on five-under 211 with South of Ireland champion James Sugrue third on level par.
Mooney edges out Moriarty in Eastern Open
Damian Mooney (Damian Mooney Golf) edged out Colm Moriarty (Glasson Hotel and GC) on the second playoff hole to win the BMW Eastern Open at St Anne’s Golf Club last week.
Strong winds battered the competitors in what was the opening event of the PGA in Ireland competitive schedule. “Conditions were really tough. It was a four-club wind and if anything it was more difficult downwind trying to get the ball to stop,” said Mooney.
In the end, Mooney and Moriarty carded a pair of two-under-par 69s with Michael McGeady a shot back on one under par.
The leading duo went back down the par four 18th in a sudden-death playoff. Moriarty fired an excellent iron shot into 15 feet while Mooney’s approach finished short of the green. He pitched to tap in range handing Colm a putt for the win but the ball stayed above ground.
The pair went down to the 18th again and this time both players found the putting surface with a short iron.
“Colm hit another lovely iron shot in to around the same distance as his first effort while I left mine eight feet from the hole,” continued Damian,
“He hit a good putt but it just shaved the hole and I rolled mine in for the birdie. It was a lovely putt.”
The next event on the PGA in Ireland circuit is The K Club Pro-Am on May 5-6th.
Senior title for Roscommon CBS
CBS Roscommon claimed the GUI Irish Schools Senior Championship at Monkstown with Tramore’s Ardscoil Na Mara claiming the Junior title. The Connacht school beat St Augustine’s from Dungarvan 4-1 in the Senior All Ireland Final thanks to wins for Allan Hill, Thomas Higgins and Cian O’Connor.
St Augustine’s beat RBAI 3-2 in the semi-finals while CBS Roscommon overcame St Kieran’s College 4-1.
In the Junior Championship, Ard Scoil Na Mara claimed the title from St Jarlath’s, Tuam with Joe Manning, Darragh Crowe and Chris Lanigan the heroes for the Tramore school.
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