The Short Game

Pairs go for major potIreland will have three pairs in the International Pairs world final next Monday and Tuesday at the St Andrews Bay resort in Scotland.

The team will play 18 holes on both the Torrance and Devlin courses and team manager Gerry O'Hara is confident this year's qualifiers can go one better than Ballykisteen's Paudie Ryan and James Keane who finished third at Celtic Manor last year.

The Northern Irish final winners at Ballyliffin are cousins John Murray and Seán Paul Murray from the Mourne club. John , who plays off three, was his club's golfer of the year last year and with his cousin off 10, they make a fine pairing.

The qualifiers from Faithlegg are Rathdowney's Pat Ruane and Bernard Smith. South County's Séamus Doherty and Mark Doyle qualified from Castleknock.

Father and son event

The Castle All-Ireland Father and Son Foursomes competition, sponsored by Cocoon Childcare, will be held this year in the second week of July. Qualifying will take place on an 18-hole strokes format on Saturday and Sunday, July 7th and 8th.

This is the 46th year of the event, which started as a strokeplay competition for Castle members. It was opened the following year, and in 1964 adopted the present matchplay format.

This year the event will attract nearly 500 hopefuls on the two qualifying days, representing over 90 clubs, with 64 pairs qualifying for the matchplay stages starting on Monday, July 9th, with the final scheduled for Sunday, July 15th.

Last year's winners were Paul and Declan Mullarkey of Carton House. Details on www.castlegc.ie/father_son.

Headford make it big

Headfort golf club reached another milestone when they officially opened their extended and refurbished clubhouse last Saturday.Captains Kevin Stewart and Pauline Walsh officiated in front of a large number of members and guests.

The clubhouse was extended on all sides and boasts much improved and more spacious locker rooms for men, women and visitors.

The club will hold their annual golf classic on Friday, July 20th on the old course and there are still some vacancies for teams of four, cost €400, which includes a three-course meal and the chance to win some prizes. Headfort Golf Club can be contacted at 046-9282001 or www.headfortgolfclub.ie for more information.

Ace for Toland (83)

Age prove no barrier to Barney Toland, Ballyliffin's most senior playing member, who at 83 years young, recorded a hole-in-one at the 17th on The Old Links in last week's competition.

Barney, who plays to a 25 handicap, used his trusty five wood into a stiff breeze to record what must challenge the world record for the oldest man to record a hole in one in competitive golf.

Carr event revs up

The Inaugural Joe Carr Invitational Golf Tournament takes place from September 30th to October 5th over four of Ireland's top courses. This is a two-person betterball format over four rounds at Tralee, Waterville, Ballybunion and the Old Head of Kinsale, which was designed by JB Carr.

To date, 27 teams confirmed their entry and there are five places left in the 32-team, two- person field. Details from Seán Clancy at sean@carrgolf.com. Places are allocated on a first come first served basis.

Madden all the way

Mary Madden from Ballinasloe was an all-the-way winner of the Irish Seniors Women's Championship at Portumna last week. Madden fired two rounds of 77 for a 154 total and a eight-shot winning margin over Valerie Hassett from Ennis with Donabate's Mary McKenna edging out Pamela Morgan from Lahinch for third place on 164.

Madden's reward was a place on the Irish team for the European senior women's amateur team championship, which will be held at Royal Drottningholm Golf Club, Stockholm from July 24th to 28th.

The other members of the team are Mary Gorry (Grange), Valerie Hassett (Ennis), Marilyn Henderson (West Rhine), Eileen MacMullen (Donegal) and Sheena O'Brien Kenney (Grange). Rhona Fanagan from Milltown is the non-playing captain with Roma English (Larne) the team manager.

Carlow into last eight

Carlow have joined Co Louth, Ennis and Royal Portrush as the first four of eight teams to qualify for the national quarter-finals of the 2007 Suzuki All-Ireland Ladies Senior Cup to be held at Milltown Golf Club in late August.

In a new departure, this year's championship sees the five district winners plus the three best losers (on handicap) contest four All-Ireland quarter-final ties.

Previously, only two district winners played a quarter-final match with the other three district winners receiving byes.

Laytown & Bettystown (East) and Kilkenny (Midland) will fill two of those three places with the final place going to either Malone or the runners-up at Tuam, depending on the lower aggregate handicaps.

Carlow booked their place last Friday and Saturday at The Heath thanks in no small way to the Delaney sisters Tara and Karen and mother Catherine. In the final they defeated Kilkenny 4-1.

McNamara's day

It took a play-off to decide the Midland Senior Scratch Cup at Carlow last week, when Cian McNamara from Limerick and The Curragh's Paul O'Hanlon went head to head after tying on 10-under-par 270, beating the previous best four-round total by three shots.

A regulation par from McNamara earned him the title at the first tie hole after O'Hanlon was forced to lay-up and then failed to get down in a pitch and putt.

McNamara set his stall out early with two 65s on the opening day and added a 68 and 72 on the second day. O'Hanlon, one of only two players in the field to break 70 in all four rounds, shot 68, 68, 65 and 69 to tie McNamara.

Conor O'Malley from Westport, the other player to break 70 in all four rounds, finished third on 275.

Dwyer's PGA Cup date

John Dwyer's recent win in the Glenmuir Club Professional Championship at Royal Porthcawl has been rewarded with selection on the Britain and Ireland team that will defend the PGA Cup against the USA later in the summer.

The 10-man team to face the Americans at Reynolds Plantation Oconee Course in Georgia on September 21st-23rd is a mixture of youth and experience.

The 33-year-old Dwyer, from Ashbourne, played in two previous matches in 2000 and 2003 and he joins the only other player to have played in the contest, Kedleston Park pro and PGA Cup veteran Paul Wesselingh (45), who will be making his fifth successive appearance.

Also on the team are James Whatley (Morley Hayes), Danny Taylor (Swingers Driving Range), Andrew Barnett (North Wales Golf Range), Michael Nesbit (Westerhope GC), Craig Goodfellow (Carlisle Driving Range), George Ryall (Players Club, Bristol), Jon Bevan (Wessex Golf Centre) and Italy-based Duncan Muscroft (Montecchia), son of a former European Tour player Hedley.

The team is captained by Gary Alliss who will be aiming to become the first man to mastermind a PGA Cup victory on American soil since the club pros' equivalent of the Ryder Cup was first played in 1973 at Pinehurst.

Taylor sews it up

Alison Taylor, a member of both Malahide and Laytown and Bettystown, was in stunning form over the links course last Monday as the Co Meath club held their Ria Kenny Memorial Salver singles competition. Playing off a handicap of one, Taylor left the rest of the field trailing in her wake with a superb 42 points.

It gave her victory in class one by nine points, from her nearest challenger Pat Eakin (11).

Her closest rival on the day was Siobhán Bowden (36), the class three winner, whose score of 39 points saw her reduce her handicap by 2.5 and she's now off 34.

Second in class three was Rosaleen Reilly who having shot 38 points also reduced her handicap by two shots.

The other class winner on the day was Rita Long (24), winner in class two, but all the talk was of Taylor's superb round.

Meanwhile, Anne Murphy of Kilkenny GC celebrated her 35 wedding anniversary by winning the Lady Captain's (Ann Gunning) prize on Sunday. Anne, wife of Leinster Branch member Dom Murphy, fired a nett 63 to win by nine shots.