Late bogeys stall Mehaffey’s Augusta bid

NORTHERN Ireland’s Olivia Mehaffey has work to do if she wants to qualify for the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship.

The Royal County Down woman fired a three-over 75 in her first round at Champions Retreat to sit one stroke off the top - 30 berth required to make the cut for the third round at Augusta National itself on Saturday.

Mehaffey did well to bounce back from two early bogeys with a birdie at the ninth but carded two late bogeys at 16 and 17 to fall slightly off the pace.

The Arizona State star will get to play one round at Augusta regardless as the entire field plays a practice round there tomorrow, but she will need to have a strong second round today — also at Champions Retreat — to move inside the top-30.

Meanwhile, Lough Erne Golf Resort have announced that former European Tour player Damian Mooney has been named the club’s PGA Professional.

“I am very enthusiastic about this new opportunity with Lough Erne Resort. They have premium golf facilities and some exciting development plans for the future,” said the 33-year-old.

“We hope to encourage golfers of all abilities to visit the resort and we will be making an extra effort to introduce more juniors from the surrounding areas to the wonderful game of golf.”

Lough Erne have also confirmed that Barry Mcauley, who has worked at the resort since 2004 as part of the greenkeeping staff and later as resort sales manager, has been appointed Golf Operations Manager.