A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Doonbeg Festival of Golf to mark 10th anniversary
THIS year the Lodge at Doonbeg Golf Club in west Clare celebrates the 10th anniversary of the opening of the championship course which has been built around the beautiful Doughmore Bay.
The course officially opened for play on July 9th, 2002, when course designer Greg Norman defeated Irelands Pádraig Harrington in a special exhibition match to mark the occasion. Four years later all of the lodgings, restaurants, clubhouse, spa and other amenities came into operation.
To mark the occasion of the course opening the club has created the Doonbeg Festival of Golf which will take place Monday 16th to Friday, July 20th. The festival, which is open to all, features different events every day: Monday, July 16th: Mens open singles. Ladies open singles. Tuesday July 17th: Open mixed scotch foursomes. Wednesday, July 18th: Open four person team scramble (any combination). Thursday, July 19th: Open fourball – any combination (men and women). Friday, July 20th: Open fourball, any combination. Details on www.doonbeglodge.com
* BERT BURKE from Moate won the Leinster Veterans title at Tullamore with a 36-hole total of 146 after rounds of 76 and 70. Second on a countback was Mullingar’s Edward Eighan from Peter Crowley (Cork) after both finished on 149, Eighan winning on the better second 18.
Lappin wins Irish Boys amateur title
BELVOIR PARK’S Gareth Lappin put his name on the Irish Boys title in style at Hermitage Golf Club last week, as he ran out the winner by eight shots.
Having opened his account with a 69, solid rounds of 73, 70 and 75 followed to give him a winning score of three-over-par 287.
Ronan Mullarney from Galway was runner-up and also the winner of the under-17 trophy after finishing on 295 (77, 73, 74, 71), while Kevin Le Blanc from The Island took the Under-16 trophy with 297 (70, 76, 74, 77).
Gavin Moynihan, the Irish Amateur Open Champion, carded a four-under-par third round of 67 to charge into contention but a poor final round of 77 saw The Island member finish in fourth place, some 10-shots behind Lappin with rounds of 73, 80, 67 and 77.
* CLUB qualifiers in the Holmpatrick Cup will set out this week in their bid to earn a place in the “Race to St Andrews”.
This week the county final circuit begins at Courtown, Wicklow, and Mannan Castle, ending up in Navan on August 8th, with the Meath final, when the line-up will be complete for the staging of the provincial finals in September at Adare Manor, Ballyliffin and at Royal Dublin.
The provincial winners will qualify for the 36 hole final over the New and Old courses at St Andrews in October.
Double celebration for Browne family
IT was a day of double celebration for the Browne family at Hermitage last Sunday week as Edmund Browne – all of 84 years young – beat his age to win the monthly medal, while his son Stephen claimed the gross prize.
Playing off a handicap of 16, Browne – the well-known tenor – shot a gross score of 83 to land what was amazingly his first monthly medal at Hermitage where he has been a member since 1959. His winning nett score of 67 – which has seen his handicap reduced to 14 – could have been a little bit better, as it also included three triple bogeys.
While it was the first time to win a monthly medal – he will celebrate his 85th birthday in October and played off a lowest handicap of four – it was not the first time Browne had beaten his age, as he shot a 73 when 79 years of age.
And to make it a more memorable day for the family Stephen, the former professional, shot 70 to win the gross prize.
McElroy targets hat-trick of titles
DEFENDING Champion Sheena McElroy from Grange will seek her third Irish Senior Close title in a row and fourth title in five years when competitors tee up at the ILGU’s Senior Women’s Close Championship at Bunclody Golf Club starting today.
Current senior internationals Helen Jones (Strabane), Pat Doran (Donabate) and Pauline Walsh (Headfort) look the most likely to pose a threat to McElroy’s title defence.
Walsh was runner-up to McElroy last year, while Doran and Jones were semi-finalists.
Doran was runner up at the British Senior Women’s Open Strokeplay last year and in 2010 while Jones triumphed at the Irish Senior’s Open Strokeplay and finished in second place at the European Senior Ladies’ Championships in 2010.
In a revised format for 2012, competitors will play straight matchplay with two rounds being played on each of the three days.
An additional incentive for the field will be the valuable Order of Merit points on offer for players eyeing selection on the Senior Women’s Home International side. Those matches take place at Elie and Earlsferry, Scotland later in October.
Europe stage dramatic fightback
EUROPE staged a dramatic final day comeback against their American counterparts to win the Palmer Cup at Royal County Down.
Trailing 10-6 heading into the final round of singles matches, Richard Linbergs side put in a remarkable performance to win the three-day contest 13½-10½. Put another way, the European side won seven of the eight singles matches.
Sebastian Cappelen set the tone by defeating Walker Cup player Chris Williams 3 and 2 in the top match. Daan Huizing, Lytham Trophy and St Andrews Links Trophy winner, had a 4 and 3 victory over Justin Thomas, while Robert Karlsson beat Patrick Rodgers 3 and 2. In the bottom match Andrew Yun lost his unbeaten run of seven consecutive Palmer Cup wins after the American lost to Pontus Widegren 3 and 1. There were further European wins for David Booth, Graeme Robertson and Julien Brun, while Thomas Pieters halved with Corbin Mills.
Phelan finishes in second place
Kevin Phelan took the runner-up spot in the Brabazon Trophy at Walton Heath. With a total of 289 he finished just two strokes behind the overall winner, Neil Raymond (England).
Raymond became the first player in over 20 years to win two Brabazons in a row and the first for over 50 years to hold the trophy on his own in successive years.
Phelan, who started the final round two behind, needed a fast start but he double-bogeyed the par-four fourth to match Raymond’s front nine of 37, while a couple of back-nine birdies couldn’t make up the difference. Paul Dunne finished on 305 with Nicky Grant on 309.
