Short Game

SHAY KEENANrounds-up other golf news in brief

Currie claims top prize at Royal County Down

THE ULSTER Ladies Golf Alliance celebrated their 60th anniversary last Monday with an outing to Royal County Down.

The Alliance was started all those years ago to allow single-handicap lady golfers the opportunity to get top-quality winter golf. Over the years the playing numbers have increased as more and more sought the benefit of winter golf on some of the provinces best courses.

On offer last Monday the golfers were playing for Daphne McNamee’s Lady Captain’s Prize over the Championship Links course at Royal County Down which proved an excellent test for all the competitors especially given the difficult windy conditions.

But it didn’t stop Nikki Currie – a three handicapper from Clandeboye – producing a fine score of 33 points to claim the top prize.

The gross prize went to Roma English from Larne, with a score of 22 gross points, playing off a handicap of eight.

** AT THE recent Irish Association of Golf Club Secretaries outing to Dooks, Slade Valley’s Paddy Maguire, playing off a handicap of 17 came home with Declan Mangan’s Presidents Prize.

A fine score of 42 points gave him a two-point winning margin over John McBride (11) of Donegal with Dromoland’s Paddy Keane (15) third best with 39 points.

Tralee’s Michael Coote (2) was the gross winner with 34 points.

St Fintan's lead the way

ST FINTAN’S High School, Sutton, led the teams home in the Leinster qualifying section of the Irish Schools’ Strokeplay Championship at Clontarf GC last week.

St Fintan’s total of 144 saw them finish four clear of Blackrock College with Wesley College edging out St Gerard’s School, Bray, for third place on the best card after both finished on 151.

The best individual scores at Clontarf came from St Fintan’s and Howth member Graham Sweeney and the Irish Boys’ champion, Paul Dunne, from Blackrock College and Greystones GC with level par rounds of 69.

Galway finish 16th at European event

IRISH SENIOR Cup winners Galway GC finished 16th in the European Men’s Club Trophy at the Klassis G and CC in Istanbul, Turkey, over the weekend.

The final round was really a very exciting and tough one. The struggle of the countries until the last moment is breathtaking as France,Turkey and Austria battled till the finish.

The title went to the host nation, Klassis Golf and Country Club, defeating Austria’s Murhof GC on a countback after they tied on 415 but due to lowest total of the three non-counting scores Turkey were crowned champions of European Mens Club Trophy 2009. In third place was Germany’s golf club St Leon-Rot with a total team score of 416.

The German side had some consolation with John Allen taking the individual title on 13-under-par 206 after rounds of 69, 69 and 68 on a countback from Lukas Nemecz from Murhof, who fired 69, 68 and 69. Alexander Levy from Ormesson in France was third on 207.

Joe Lyons led the way for Galway with rounds of 77, 73 and 75 for 225, Damien Coyne shot 73, 82 and 77 for 232 and David Scully 79, 80 and 83 for 242, which resulted in a team score (with two to count in each round) of 455.

District teams for Winterpro session

THE NEXT ILGU Winterpro session, for Ireland’s top amateurs, will take place at The Links Portmarnock, from November 6th-8th. The round-robin tournament sees all five districts nominate four players with the students on Paddy Harrington Golf Scholarship at NUI Maynooth making up a sixth team.

Each team plays each other over the first five sessions with the sixth session hosting the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. The November weekend gives high performance manager Peter Lockley a chance to meet the players for the first time. Lockley will also liaise with the four provincial coaches over the coming weeks in advance of the busy programme of tournaments due to start in early 2010.

The district teams selected for this year’s competitions are:

North: Victoria Bradshaw, Leona Maguire, Lisa Maguire, Charlene Reid.

East: Ciara Butler, Maria Dunne, Sue Philips, Carla Reynolds.

South: Sarah Crowe, Laura McCarthy, Emma O'Driscoll, Gillian OLeary.

West: Ailbhe Farrell, Sarah Helly, Anne McCormack, Fiona Moclair.

Midland: Karen Delaney, Patrice Delaney, Amy Farrell, Louise Mernagh.

NUI Maynooth: Sarah Cunningham, Danielle McVeigh, Aideen Murphy, Lucy Simpson.

McDermott in form at Alliance outing

DÚN LAOGHAIRE GC was the venue for the Leinster Alliance outing last week and the good weather coupled with the excellent condition of the course brought out the best in the large attendance. Best of the day was a six-under-par gross from professional Michael McDermott with 42 points, and he was followed home by Simon Bryan, from Delgany with 38, helped by a hole-in-one at the 14th. Jim Freeman from The K Club was third on 34 from John McDermott from Dún Laoghaire.

Scoring in the nett category was also top quality with David Briggs, a six handicap from Kilcoole, leading the way on 41 points from Kevin Hicks (8) of the European Club, Shay Fleming (5) of the Hermitage, and Brendan McNestry (7) of Dún Laoghaire, after all three finished on 39 points.

The next outing is at Moyvalley on November 8th and the time sheet is with Michael Neary at 2827297 between 9am and 5pm.

Coláiste Chiaráin win Munster title

COLÁISTE CHIARÁIN from Croom won the Munster Schools Championship at Mitchelstown GC last week with a 3½-1½ win over Patrician Academy, Mallow, who were also finalists last year.

The team of David Carroll, Jack Ryan, Owen O’Brien, Daniel Lucey and Colin O’Sullivan, winners of the North Munster section earlier this month, went on to beat De La Salle College, Waterford, in the Munster semi-final, while Mallow beat Rochestown College, Cork.

In the thrilling final, Patrician Academy, Mallow beat Rochestown College, Cork, 3.5/1.5.

Coláiste Chiaráin’s points came from Owen O’Brien who beat Kevin Dowling 3 and 2, Jack Ryan a 5 and 4 winner over Paul McCarthy, Dan Lucey who beat Liam Attridge 3 and 1 while Eoin Goggins secured Mallow’s win with a 5 and 3. success against Colin O’Sullivan, The top match was called in from the 19th with David Carroll and Conor Dowling level. The national finals take place on April 20th, 2010, at Killarney GC.