By SHAY KEENAN

Elmgreen rename hole in honour of Rowan Hamilton

ELMGREEN Golf Club has recently renamed the 16th hole as the Rowan Hamilton Corner. Rowan Hamilton was a person of exceptional talent. Born in Dominick Street, Dublin in 1805, he was the fourth of nine children.

Hamilton could read at the age of four and by 10 he had mastered several languages. He had an exceptional memory and could do complex calculations in his head. He began reading difficult and complex mathematical texts and at the age of 16, he noted a flaw in a text book by the great mathematician Laplace (1749-1827), which was duly acknowledged and corrected.

Hamilton’s mathematics are very complex and best left to elite mathematicians.

An institute has been established at NUI Maynooth to develop further uses for his mathematics. His statue stands outside Government Buildings.

The committee of Elmgreen Golf Club chose the 16th green well to honour his work and renown.

The number 16 matches the October 16th, 1843, the date Hamilton first wrote down the fundamental formula for quaternions, which are used to calculate mechanics in three-dimensional space.

The fairway is along the boundary of a field now called the “Hamilton Walk” which Hamilton used going to Broombridge, and the green is beside Dunsink Observatory where Hamilton worked for 38 years.

Jessica Korda majors like dad Petr

REMEMBER Petr Korda, who won the Australian Open tennis title in the late 1990s?

Well, the Korda name was back in the limelight again on Sunday as the family once again boasted an Australian Open champion after golfer Jessica won her maiden LPGA title in the same city where her tennis-playing father Petr claimed his only grand slam, in 1998.

The 18-year-old American, in just her second year on the elite women’s tour, had started the day a shot ahead of the field but prevailed only after a six-way play-off at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

Korda sank a birdie putt on the second play-off hole to see off the challenge of Americans Brittany Lincicome and Stacy Lewis, South Koreans Hee Kyung-seo and So Yeon-ryu as well as Paraguay’s Julieta Granada.

Czech Korda won his only major tennis title by beating Chilean Marcelo Rios in three sets in the 1998 final at Melbourne Park.

Mallon to skipper USA in Solheim

MEG Mallon, an 18-time winner on the LPGA tour, who represented the United States as a player in the Solheim Cup on eight occasions and as assistant captain once, is to captain the side next year at Colorado Golf Club.

Mallon has been a part of six US Solheim Cup team victories.

She was also captain of the US Junior Solheim Cup Team in 2011, which retained the Cup when they drew 12-12 with Europe at Knightsbrook.

Of course, Europe won the most recent Solheim Cup with a Sunday afternoon surge last September at Killeen Castle, but the USA leads 8-4 through 12 editions of the event.

Whitson gets to last eight in Elanora

IRELAND’S Reeve Whitson lost out to Australian Jake Higgenbottom in the last eight of the New South Wales Amateur Open Championship at Elanora, going down 4 and 3.

They were all square after eight holes, but then the Australian took control, winning the ninth with a birdie, the 10th with a par, the 11th with an eagle and the 12th with another birdie to go four up and he finished the match on the 15th.

Earlier, Whiston beat England’s Ashley Chesters 4 and 3 in the first round and followed with a 2 and 1 win over Australian Fraser Wilkin.

One down after 13, Whitson birdied the 14th to square the match, regained the lead with a par at the next, rolled in another birdie at the 16th and needed only a half at the 17th to book his passage, which he duly did.

Niall Gorey had advanced to the second round thanks to a victory on the final green against Australian international player Samuel Costa, but he lost the first four holes of his second round match against Callan O’Reilly on his way to a 6 and 5 defeat.

Gary Hurley had also won the right to compete in the tournament thanks to finishing in a tie for fourth in the New South Wales Medal Championship the previous week, but he suffered a first round exit by 2 and 1 at the hands of another Australian, Matt Wittenberg.

McElroy 10th in Spanish seniors

IRELAND’S Sheena McElroy finished 10th in the Spanish senior women’s golf championship, which ended at La Manga, Spain, on Sunday.

McElroy, from the Grange GC, shot rounds of 83 and 85 for a 36-hole total of 168. The event was won by local Maria Castillo Dolagaray, who carded a 81 and 72 for 153, and a six-shot win over another Spaniard, Maria de Orueta Pemartin, who led after a first round 76 but a disappointing second round 83 left her six adrift.

Pauline Walsh tied for 33rd place on 178 after rounds of 91 and 87, while Valerie Shannon finished on 197.

Spain also dominated the doubles competition, with Catalina Castillejo Oriol and Maria Orueta Pemartin carding rounds of 74 and 80 for 154 and a three-shot winning margin from Christina Marsana Arstareco and Maria Castillo Dolagaray, who shot 71 and 86. McElroy teamed with Vicki Thomas of Wales to finish seventh on 163 (77 and 86).

Walshe takes the Laytown honours

DUNDALK’S Clem Walshe made a winning start to the RaboDirect Hilary Society season at Laytown and Bettystown last week. Taking advantage of the benign conditions which produced a feast of birdies and eagles, Walshe carded five birdies on his way to a nett 64.

Walshe won by two shots from Royal Dublin’s Mark Murnane, who also amassed five birdies in his 66.

Newcomer Graeme McQueen, from Roganstown, took the gross honours, covering the Co Meath links in a splendid four-under-par 66.

McQueen began his round by holing a wedge second shot to the opening hole for an eagle two and added birdies at the fourth, ninth, 16th and 18th in a rollercoaster round which also contained three bogeys.

McQueen was a member of the winning team of Forest Little’s Martin Kelly and Royal Dublin’s Shane O’Donoghue, who swopped his CNN duties for the day to contribute four birdies and an eagle on the fourth in a 12-under-par 58.

The next outing is in Portmarnock Links on Sunday, February 19th, details on www.hilarygolf.ie

DETAILS: 64 C Walshe (5, Dundalk), 66 M Murnane (2, Royal Dublin), 67 P Behan (3, St Anne’s). Gross: 66 G McQueen (1, Roganstown 66. Team: G McQueen (1, Roganstown), S O’Donoghue (5, Royal Dublin), M Kelly (4, Forrest Little) 58.