Short game

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Lyons leads them home in Galway Bay Pro-Am

FOR the third year in succession the first prize at the Galway Bay Golf Pro-Am has been claimed by an amateur.

On an extremely difficult day with winds of 25mph gusting to 40mph amateur international Joe Lyons managed to hole some putts early on which gave him something to hold on to as the weather deteriorated.

A score of 31 points (+5) may not seem all that noteworthy but it was good enough to take the spoils. Lyons was playing with the runner-up, Leaving Certificate student Ronan Mullarney who had 29 points (+7). Mullarney beat PGA professionals Hugh O’Neill and Raymond Ryan by virtue of a better back nine.

Indeed he may well have won the overall event were it not for a slice of good luck for the winner on the 18th. After pulling his drive left of the fairway Lyons was fortunate to find his ball perched between two sets of gorse bushes. Had that ball been lost it would probably have been curtains for Lyons and Mullarney would have been victorious. Mullarney played the back nine in level par which was a truly remarkable effort given the worsening conditions on the day.

R&A offer a helping  hand in Cambodia

A series of junior golf clinics which are believed to be the first of their kind in Cambodia were held recently with the support of the RA.

The coaching clinics ran from July to December and proved very popular with more than 40 children, many of whom had never played golf before, taking part at the Golf Village Driving Range in Phnom Penh. The clinics are scheduled to resume this month.

The sessions were organised by the Cambodian Golf Federation and delivered by Roger Hunt, the former Australian Amateur team captain, who has been advising the body for the last five years.

The courses this month will be open to newcomers but returning students will receive slightly more advanced coaching to further develop their skills and understanding of the rules and etiquette of the game.

Busy year  beckons for the Grays in Howth

For this coming year Michael Gray and his wife, Therese, will be captain and lady captain of Howth Golf Club. It is the first time in the history of the club that a husband and wife have held the honour of being captains in the same year. Last Saturday they held their drive-in following a four person team event.