DUNDALK

GARRETT Duffy won the Dundalk Junior Scratch Cup, sponsored by DAR Golf, on Sunday by one shot from Ciaran Traynor with Clem Walshe a shot further back in third place.

Duffy, who plays off five, produced rounds of 78 and 75 for a total of 153 on a day when the weather was varied with morning sunshine for the opening round making way for periods of heavy rain during the second circuit.

After inauspicious start with a double bogey on the opening hole, Duffy dropped three more shots over the par five sixth and

seventh to turn in 41. However, he managed to cover the back nine in 37 shots as birdies at the 10th and 14th took the sting out of further bogeys at 11, 12 and 17.

That left Duffy on 78, three adrift of first round leader Joe McArdle from Ardee who shot 75. Traynor, who plays off seven, opened with a 79 and was lying one shot behind Duffy as they teed up for the second round.

Duffy’s hopes seemed to be fading after the first three holes of the final round as he opened with three straight bogeys and although he birdied the index one par four fourth he then went and double-bogeyed the par three fifth.

Another birdie followed at the sixth and three pars ensured he turned for home with a chance after covering the opening nine in 39. A birdie at 10 was followed by bogeys at 11 and 14 but he birdied 16 to get back to level par for the back nine and managed to par the final two holes for a homeward nine of 36, a second round score of 75 and an overall total of 153.

When the dust settled, it proved to be just enough. Traynor matched Duffy’s second round 75 but came up short by one shot while Walshe, who had shot 77 in the first round, could only manage a 78 in the second.

The club’s Pierce Purcell Shield Team were involved in first round qualifying on Saturday at Hollywood Lakes and finished 12th out of the 15 teams battling to reach Sunday’s matchplay semi-finals between the top four qualifiers. The five Dundalk foursomes pairings shot a combined score of 380 which was 12 off the total needed to qualify.

The Fred Daly Cup team are through to the Second Round of the Leinster section of this national competition after beating Laytown & Bettystown 4-1 while the U15 Inter-Club Matchplay Team are through to the Second Round in Leinster after a walkover against Balbriggan.

Ciaran Daly (21) with a fine score of 43pts was the winner of Wednesday’s Open Singles Stableford with Greenore’s Adam McDonnell (3) taking the Gross Prize with a one under par score of 37pts. It was a memorable day for another visitor from Greenore, Sean Murphy, who had a hole in one at the par three 13th.

Sunday, May 14 - Dundalk Junior Scratch Cup, Sponsored by Dar Golf – Overall - 153: Garrett Duffy (5) 78, 75. 154: Ciaran Traynor (7) 79, 75. 155: Clem Walshe (4) 77, 78. 156: Paul Reilly (5, Co Louth) 77,79. Best Nett: 145 - J K Cohalan (6, Ballybunion) 75,70. First 18 Gross: Joe McArdle (5, Ardee) 75. First 18 Nett: Ciaran Sheridan (5) 71/34.5. Second 18 Gross: John Oster (4, Laytown & Bettystown) 77. Second 18 Nett: Damian English (10) 68. First Round CSS: 73 (Home), 74 (Away). Second Round CSS: 73 (Home), 74 (Away).

Wednesday, May 10 – Open Singles Stableford – Overall : Ciaran Daly (21) 43pts. Category 1 (+1 to 13): Ruairi Gogarty (8) 41pts, Adam McDonnell (3, Greenore) 40pts. Category 2 (1419): Willie McKeever (17) 41pts, Len Mullins (16) 39pts. Category 3 (20-28): Michael Browne (21) 40pts, Dennis McQuillan (20) 39/20pts. Best Gross: Adam Mc- Donnell (Greenore) 37pts. CSS: 36pts.