A round-up of other golf news in brief

Portmarnock and Mount Juliet top category polls

A CHANGE at the top in the links category and four new entries in the top-30 in the parkland category are the highlights of the 2010 Irish golf courses rankings results determined by a panel of 54 voters and announced in the spring issue of Backspin Golf Magazine.

In the links category Portmarnock Golf Club has reversed positions with Royal Co Down, which topped the inaugural poll two years ago. Royal Portrush and the European Club have retained their third and fourth places.

Portmarnock received 12 top votes (250 points), 10 votes of 225 points and nine votes of 200 points. Royal Co Down received 13 top votes (250 points), 11 votes of 225 points and five votes of 200 points.

In the parkland category there’s no change in the top-four, with Mount Juliet topping the poll again, while The K Club Palmer, Adare and Druids Glen retain their positions. The top six courses in the category have all staged international events, reflecting the quality of Ireland’s parkland jewels. Mount Juliet received 15 top votes (250 points), 10 votes of 225 points and five votes of 200 points. The K Club Palmer received 10 top votes (250 points), seven votes of 225 points and seven votes of 200 points.

New entries in the parkland category are Killeen Castle (11th), Lough Erne (13th), Concra Wood (23rd) and Bunclody (27th). The only club to receive votes from all 54 voters was Co Louth.

McVeigh shows form in Portugal

DANIELE McVEIGH from Royal Co Down Ladies gave her Curtis Cup ambition a boost when she finished joint sixth in an elite field of 90 at the Portuguese International Ladies Amateur Open Championship over the Oceanico O’Connor Jnr Course, in Portugal over the weekend.

McVeigh fired an impressive closing round of 70 to leave her 10 strokes behind Spain’s Anna Arrese, who birdied the last in halves of 33 and 34 for a 67 – the lowest round of the championship – and a final total of five-under-par 283.

Germany’s Lara Katzy started the final day with a two-shot lead from Tara Davies and, at that stage, was four ahead of joint fourth-placed Arrese. Katzy had five birdies in her final par round of 72 but bogeys at the 14th and 18th left the door open for Arrese to pip her by a single shot.

Katzy finished on 284 and she was the only other player in the field to get under the testing par of 288 for four circuits of the Christy O’Connor Jnr-designed course.

Cork’s Gillian O’Leary, the winner in 2004, rounded off a good week’s work with a closing 74 to finish joint 24th.

Earlier Maria Dunne (Skerries), Aedin Murphy (Carlow), Victoria Bradshaw (Bangor), Sarah Cunningham (Ennis), Ciara Butler (Newlands) and Louise Mernagh (Woodenbridge) missed the 14-over-par cut after 54 holes.

Quartet set for Portuguese event

PAUL CUTLER from Portstewart, Alan Dunbar from Rathmore, Laytown and Bettystown’s Robert Cannon and Reeve Whitson from the Mourne club have been selected by the Golfing Union of Ireland to compete in the Portuguese Amateur Open Championship at Aroeira 1 Golf Club which will take place from February 18th-21st.

The six players who have been selected to compete in the Spanish Amateur Open Championship at La Reserva Golf Club from March 3rd-7th are: Cutler (Portstewart), Dunbar, Paul Dunne (Greystones), Dara Lernihan (Castle), Cian Curley (Newlands) and Luke Lennox (Moyola Park).

Dunbar, Curley, Cutler and Lernihan were all members of the European Team Championship and Home International Team in 2009, while Cannon was a member of the Home Internationals Team and won the South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship in 2009.

Rogan claims first win of season

DESPITE the early morning frost the Leinster Alliance got their 2010 year off to a flying start with a large attendance at the Portmarnock Hotel and Links last Saturday.

And leading the field home was Skerries six-handicapper Colin Rogan with 38 points, winning on the back nine from the ever-consistent Shay Fleming (5) from Hermitage.

Third place went to Eamon Donoghue, an eight-handicapper from Beech Park, who won on the last three holes from a group on 36 points. The gross prize was won by Colin Byrne from Killeen with 34 points, with Mark Justice from Skerries second on 32.

The next outing of the Alliance is at the Royal Dublin GC on Sunday, February 28th. The time sheet is now open with Michael Neary at 01-2827297.

THERE are a limited number of places left for annual Irish Seniors Festival of Golf in the Algarve from March 20th-28th. Contact tony.heverin@heverintravel.ie

Doherty gets  off to great start  

THE Leinster Ladies Alliance got their 2010 golfing season up and running last Friday in Laytown and Bettystown and it marked a good start to the year for Sutton’s Julie Doherty, who claimed the spoils by a comfortable margin. The nine-handicapper shot an impressive 39 points to win by four points from Niamh Kielty, also playing off nine. The gross winner was The Island’s Gertie McMullan, with 33 points, off a handicap of five.

Thinking of heading to the Ryder Cup in Wales later this year? For your chance to see the stars of this year’s event warm up for the main event over three practice days at Celtic Manor resort tickets for September 28th-30th are now on sale at www.rydercup.com/tickets, with up to eight tickets available for purchase by each applicant. Purchasing practice day tickets does not effect other applications for match-day tickets.

Practice day tickets for Tuesday, September 28th and Wednesday, September 29th cost £30 each – on these two days there is also a special concession for under-16s with tickets priced at £15 – and for Thursday when the opening ceremony takes place, the price is £40 (concessions £20). Car parking costs £10 per car on Tuesday and Wednesday and £20 on Thursday.

Hibernian now at The K Club

THE HIBERNIAN Golf Club has moved home and is now located at the Smurfit Course, at The K Club in Straffan, Co Kildare.

Formerly at Citywest, Adrian Reid, the club captain, and Anne-Marie Conibear, Lady Captain, both agree “We are indeed very fortunate in obtaining the use of these facilities and we have no doubt membership numbers will be back to what they were a few years ago.”

Competition day and times remain as before – Sunday mornings – but they expect to have enough demand to include mid-week events.

New members are welcome, visit www.hiberniangolf.com.