TheShortGame

Golf/Dunne fifth in Alabama:  Ireland international Maria Dunne, from Skerries, tied for fifth place in a field of 93 at the Lady Jaguar Invitational tournament at Mobile, Alabama, last week.

Dunne, a student at Bethune-Cookman College, had rounds of 74 and 76 over the 5,821-yard, par 72 Azalea City course. Team-mate Fiona Brunton, from Cornwall, was joint 35th on 158 with scores of 78 and 80. Taryn Durham (Middle Tennessee) won by five shots with a 71 and 72. Middle Tennessee (602) won the team title from McNeese State (604) and Birmingham Southern (608).

Best Cup's big draw: The draw for the Best Cup 2005 takes place in Malahide Golf Club tomorrow at 7.30pm. Clubs are invited to send two representatives who are also invited to participate in a nine-hole Stableford competition prior to the meeting.

The entry fee for the Best Cup is €€50 - payable on the night. The Best Cup was won in 2004 by Skerries who beat Kilternan in a close final.

O'Malley aces it: Royal Dublin's Brendan O'Malley got his clubbing just right when he aced the par four 16th last Wednesday. O'Malley, a two-handicap Senior Cup player with Royal Dublin and holder of the St Anne's Scratch Cup, used his driver at the 241-metre hole that also brings back memories of Christy O'Connor's great eagle, birdie, eagle finish to the Carrolls International in 1966.

O'Malley's five-point albatross helped him to 30 points in the competition and second place behind Vincent Clarke, who shot 32 points off a 16 handicap.

Four vie for Hilary glory: Four players will battle it out for the overall honours as the BMW-sponsored Hilary Golf Society season draws to a close.

Sutton's Seamus McMonagle and Derek Downie, Colm McCarthy (St Anne's) and Frank Gannon (Skerries) are all in line for the gold and silver medal for individual scores.

McMonagle leads the amateur gross at two-under-par from Downie (+1), McCarthy (+3) and Skerries' Frank Gannon (+4), while he is also in line for the nett, just two shots behind McCarthy's six-under-par. Downie is third in this section at level par, with Gannon, who needs one more counting score, at one-over. The next outing is at Co Louth on Sunday.

Beginners society: Are you just starting out in the game and looking for some extra competitive play? If so, European Women's Tour professional Aideen Rogers - who also teaches at the Fingal Golf Centre in Cloghran - could have the perfect solution for you.

For the past two years she has had a golf society for women and it has been a huge success. Now she is turning her attention to men without a club looking for some competition.

Aideen has a couple of qualification criteria for society membership: Category One is for golfers who can shoot a gross score of 100 or better, while Category Two is for beginners unable yet to break the magical ton.

Anyone wishing to join can do so, even if they are already a member of another society. For further information, log into Aideen's website at www.aideenrogers.com and click on Beginners Golf Society, or ring Aideen at 087 9906738.

Cubs Easter dates: Elmgreen Golf Club are holding their Tiger Cubs Easter Dates once again during the school holidays. The two-day events take place on Tuesday, March 29th, and Wednesday, March 30th, and also Thursday, March 31st, and Friday, April 1st. Each of the coaching sessions run from 10am to 1pm and the cost is €90 per child. There is a maximum of 32 children per session and each group consists of eight children with a PGA professional. Bookings can be made to arnoldoconnor@eircom.net and are only accepted for two days.

Connacht Youths off: The Connacht Provincial Council announced this week that they have had to postpone the Connacht Youths Amateur Open Championship scheduled for Belmullet from April 7th-10th until further notice.

Following two course inspections at Belmullet, the council's championship committee felt it was in the best interest of the championship, competitors, and club not to proceed.

Belmullet suffered severe salt damage to three greens during the storms which battered the west coast in January, and even though extensive efforts were made by the club to get the greens back to championship standard, the severe cold weather of the last three weeks has hampered the work considerably. The championship will be staged at a later date.

The Irish Schools Strokeplay Connacht Provincial semi-finals and final are scheduled for Belmullet on Tuesday, March 22nd. Semi-finals line-up: Garbally College v Rice College (9.0); Summerhill College v Marist College (9.24). Final: 1.30.

McFadden doubles up: Different format, but same result out in Newlands recently as Sophie McFadden made it back-to-back wins at the Clondalkin club. Last Saturday week she teamed up with eight- handicapper Leonie Keogh to win the 18-hole scotch foursomes event with 32 points. Three days later in the 14-hole singles competition, the 23-handicapper again shot 32 points to seal victory, but only over the last nine ahead of Geraldine McGovern (26), who had to settle for winner of Class 2.

Junior Scratch Cup: West Waterford's Junior Scratch Cup, sponsored again by Waterford Crystal, takes place on Easter Monday, March 28th, and is an 18-hole strokes event with a handicap range of 5 to 11. The timesheet always fills up very quickly so telephone West Waterford on 058-43216 or 058-41475 to book a place.

Meanwhile, on Sunday the club made a presentation to Timmy W Murphy to mark his becoming the first professional to come from the club. ... skeenan@irish-times.ie