Irish trio triumph: The Irish trio of Tricia Mangan, Martina Gillen and Claire Coughlan made strong claims for places on the Curtis Cup team to face the US at Pacific Dunes in Oregon on July 29th and 30th when claiming the team award at the St Rule Trophy at St Andrews yesterday.
Mangan finished third in the individual, just four shots behind Scottish winner Krystle Caithness, while Gillen claimed a share of fourth place with Coughlan well up the leaderboard. Caithness, a 17-year-old from Fife, finished with an 11-under-par total of 216. Mangan shot 72, 74 and 74 for 220 while Gillen fired 74, 72 and 76. Coughlan was well in touch with the leaders until a final round 80 dropped her out of the top 10.
Caithness's total of 216 was only one shot outside the tournament record low set by Caitríona (Lambert) Matthew in her 1993 victory. Krystle's total was 12 shots better than Annika Sorenstam shot in 1990 when she won the St Rule Trophy after a play-off.
Ireland (Mangan, Gillen and Coughlan) with a total of 441 won the team award by one shot from Germany with Australia third. Other Irish scores include: Maria Dunne - 229, Marian Riordan - 233, Sinead O'Sullivan - 234, Deirdre Smith - 239 and Gillian O'Leary - 240.
Irish woe in US
The American college golf season ended in disappointment for Ireland's Gareth Shaw, Cian McNamara and their team-mates at East Tennessee State University when they failed to survive the third-round cut in the NCAA Division One men's championship at Sunriver, Oregon last week.
Shaw shot rounds of 72 71 and 77 while McNamara, after an excellent opening 68, shot 78 and 74 for 220. Walker Cup player Rhys Davies, an Edinburgh-born Welshman, was the best of East Tennesse team on 217 with 74, 73 and 70. Jonathan Moore (Oklahoma State) won the individual title with 68, 70, 69 and 69 for 12-under-par 276. Oklahoma State also won the team award with a total of 1143 - three shots ahead of Florida.
Home at Hillside
Hillside GC in Southport, Lancashire, will host the Home Internationals in 2009. The annual three-day team event between the four Home nations will be played on August 26th-28th, 2009. This will be the second occasion that Hillside has been the venue for the tournament. It played host in 1977 when England were triumphant and it proved a happy hunting ground for the home side last July when England won the European Men's Team Championships over the testing course.
The 1977 event was one of many Home Internationals staged in the north west of England. Royal Lytham and St Anne's has hosted five Home Internationals, Royal Liverpool and Formby two each, and Royal Birkdale one. But the Home Internationals have not been held in the north west since the 1993 matches at Hoylake. England staged the 2005 Home Internationals at Royal St George's in Kent when Scotland were the winners while this year's tournament will be played in Wales at Lyle & Kenfig.
St Sylvester's classic
St Sylvester's GAA Club is staging its annual golf classic, a key fund-raiser for the north Dublin club, at Portmarnock Links on Friday, June 23rd.
The club relies on a variety of fundraising events to help meet the cost of providing Gaelic games facilities in Malahide and has been fortunate to secure a mid-summer afternoon booking for the classic which has a 2.30pm shotgun start. Among the prizes are golf, dinner and accommodation at Doonbeg. Anyone interested in entering a team (four players) at a cost of €1,000 can contact the club at 01-8453879.
Ballinrobe double
They must have been rubbing their eyes recently at Ballinrobe GC, Co Mayo, wondering were they seeing double as they read out the ladies results, as the top three positions in different competitions were all the same. Securing wins on both occasions was Nono McHugh, who won the Elizabeth O'Lochlainn Memorial Trophy with 44 points, three ahead of her nearest challenger. She won the strokes competition with a nett 66 - three better than the field. Following her on both occasions was runner-up Sue Kane, while taking two third spots was Anne Galvin.
Meanwhile, John O'Shea won the Elizabeth O'Lochlainn Memorial Trophy for the men, also his second win in recent weeks.
Portmarnock offer
Playing golf in the Dublin area any time of the year can be a trying experience if you are not a member of a club. However, the Portmarnock Hotel and Links may be able to help. At a cost of €750 the Links have introduced a "Summer Card" where holders can play unlimited golf from June to the end of September.
Designed by Bernhard Langer, the championship links at Portmarnock Hotel covers 180 acres of classic links terrain. The recent introduction of a number of new tees will test all comers and add to the challenge of the modern game. For details of this special offer contact Moira Cassidy at 01-8461800.
Prenderville pounces
Junior Niamh Prenderville showed the ladies the way to go recently in William Kingston's President's Prize at Hermitage Golf Club but because she was a junior member she had to settle for runners-up spot.
The 14 handicapper fired a best of the day 36 points, but conceded victory to Mary O'Gorman (26) who had 35 points. The gross prize winner was Liz Greene with a 32 points, while the class winners on the day were Aisling Brennan (17), Maud Nally (24) and Elizabeth O'Dwyer (35).
Special Olympics
Massereene GC is in for a great three days when they host the Special Olympics Golf National Games Programme from Thursday, June 22nd to Saturday, June 24th.
Teams from all the different Irish regions will gather in Belfast for three days of competition and it is from here that athletes will qualify for the next World Summer Games, which are to be held in China in 2007.
The game has been adapted to suit the abilities of these players who range from late teens to late 50s. All Special Olympic golfers come through the six skills levels - from putting to driving - before they eventually progress to the fairways, where they start off with foursomes with a club golfer.
The whole Special Olympics Golf Programme is supported by the ILGU, GUI and the PGA.
Haughton hits form
Making great strides at the game in recent times is Catherine Haughton of Hollywood Lakes GC. She was a recent winner of the prestigious monthly medal where she won with a score of 69. She followed that by winning the weekly singles competition with a score of 41 points. The two wins combined to see her cut her handicap from 15 to 12. Haughton joined Hollywood Lakes eight years ago without a handicap, but is now beginning to devote more time and effort to her game . . . and it is beginning to pay rich dividends.
St Helen's good deed
Six representatives from St Helen's Bay in Rosslare Harbour have left for Kowke in Zambia to view first hand the new nine-room girl's secondary school they helped to finance. Raising over €60,000 in the last two years through golf classics, raffles and actions, the members of the club with their friends have financed the full construction of the school, an administration block for teachers and some ancillary rooms. They hope the proceeds for this year's classic will pay for the furniture and equipment needed in the school.
Travelling out for the official opening of the school are Mari and Larry Byrne, Linda and Seán Shine, Bernie Wright and Donal Ó Murchu, who spent 14 years working in Zambia.
Clubs interested in supporting future projects should contact Larry Byrne 053 - 33234.
Father and Son event
Castle GC All-Ireland Father and Son foursomes competition, sponsored by Robert Buckley of Cocoon Head Start Centres, will again be held this year in the first week of July.
The event started in 1961 and was originally confined to Castle members as a strokeplay competition. It was opened to all the following year and adopted its present matchplay format in 1964.
Some 500 hopefuls will line up on the two qualifying days of July 2nd and 3rd.
A special website for the event has been set up at www.castlegc.ie/father_son. Entries can be made through this website.
Baldwin retains title
All American John Baldwin needed to retain the Irish senior men's open amateur championship at Limerick GC was a final round of one-over-par 72.
Baldwin had a three-stroke lead entering the final round, in which one of his playing partners, former Walker Cup player Arthur Pierse (Tipperary), who had been four off the pace, covered the front nine in two under par to close the gap to two shots.
Bogeys on the 10th and 11th holed halted Pierse's advance and solid play by Baldwin over the back nine ensured that he enjoyed a three-stroke lead walking to the 18th tee.
Pierse's birdie on the 18th was not enough to close the gap and Baldwin became the fifth player to successfully defend the championship.
Gillen leads Merit list
Despite her defeat in the semi-final of the Clairins Leinster Championship to Maria Dunne, Martina Gillen still holds a 15-point lead in the ILGU Order of Merit for 2006.
The Beaverstown player leads on 785 points but hot on her heels is recently-crowned Irish Close Champion Tricia Mangan (Ennis) with Deirdre Smith in third place. Dunne's victory leapfrogs her into sixth place while an in-form Marian Riordan (Tipperary) holds off Maura Morrin (Curragh) for fourth place.
Leading placings: 785 - Martina Gillen (Beaverstown), 750 - Tricia Mangan (Ennis), 570 - Deirdre Smith (Co Louth), 303 - Marian Riordan (Tipperary), 293 - Maura Morrin (Curragh), 280 - Maria Dunne (Skerries), 255 - Danielle McVeigh (Royal Co Down Ladies), 250 - Darragh McGowan (Ballybofey & Stranorlar), 245 - Fiona Carroll (Athenry), 245 - Jennifer Gannon (Co Louth).
