A GOOD WALK
of 138 to win by one stroke from Eamon Kelly.
A six under par 66 in Saturday’s Qualifying Round left the six handicapper tied for the first round lead with Sunday qualifiers Gregory McCaughey (8) and Austin Carroll (15) and they were paired together in the last group as the top 30 from the qualifying rounds were seeded for the Final Round.
By the time they teed off on Sunday afternoon the final group were well aware that the experienced Michael Hamilton (16) had followed up an opening round of 74 with a 66 to set the target at 140, four under par.
Eamon Kelly (12), playing in the fifth group ahead of the joint leaders, was the first to better Hamilton’s score when he returned a 66 and signed for a two round total of 138 having posted a level par round of 72 in Saturday qualifying.
For a while it looked as though Kelly would hang on as the following groups failed to match or better his six under par total but Renaghan managed to hold things together to pip him and take the Mick Spillane Cup which is awarded each year to the winner of the Captain’s Prize.
Renaghan had produced a masterclass on Saturday in qualifying with a six under par 66 that included back to back birdies at the fifth and sixth and 14 pars as he covered the 18 holes in level par gross.
He continued in that vein by birdieing the first two holes of his second round to move to eight under for the tournament and he stretched that to 10 under with pars at the third and fourth where he had shots.
He dropped a shot at the fifth, which he bogeyed, and followed that with a triple bogey eight at the par five index 17 sixth where he racked up a triple bogey eight and fell back to six under with 12 holes to go. A par five at the index three seventh got him back to seven under par but he then dropped two shots at the par three ninth when he took a double bogey five.
That left him at five under par at turn as he turned one over for the day having the covering the opening nine in 40 gross and 37 nett.
He birdied the 10th and parred the index two 11th to go to seven under but then handed those shots back when he bogeyed the next two holes. However, a magnificent birdie three at the par four index four 16th brought him back to seven under and he parred the final two holes, where he didn’t have any shots, to return home in 37 gross and 34 nett for a gross score of 77 and a nett score of 71.
That left him on 137, seven under par, and it was enough to pip Kelly by one shot, Kelly took second place overall with Hamilton winning the Veteran’s Prize. Aaron Grant (+2) shot gross rounds of two under par 70 for a two round total of 140 and claimed the Gross Prize. Conor Curran (2), Paul O’Callaghan (11) and Trevor Giff (12) all finished on 140 nett and took the third, fourth and fifth overall prizes.
Brendan Duffy (12) on 141 took the Category One Prize with John McKeever (13) claiming the Category Two Prize on 143 while Gerry Campbell (26) took the Category Three Prize on 143.
A large crowd was present in the Clubhouse on Sunday evening for the presentation ceremony and Captain Gerry Byrne congratulated all the winners and thanked all those who played over the three days of competition as well as all those members of staff and club committees who had been involved in the organising and preparation of the event. There was a special welcome at the presentation for Gregory McCaughey as his achievement in finishing eighth at the four round World Deaf Golf Championships in Carton House recently and helping Ireland to second place in the senior team event was acknowledged.
Brian McDonnell (13) shot a fabulous round of 43pts to win Wednesday’s Open Singles Stableford competition by three points from Shane Hession (4) who also shot the day’s best gross score of 36pts.
Best wishes to Eoin Murphy who will be part of the Ireland team at the Boys U18 Home Internationals from August 7 t0 9. This year the event is being played at Royal Dornoch in Scotland with England bidding for a three-in-a-row and Ireland searching for a first win since 2013.
Sunday, August 5 – Gerry Byrne’s Captain’s Prize (36 Holes) – Winner: 137 - Brian Óg Renaghan (6) 66, 71. Second: 138 – Eamon Kelly (12) 72, 66. Veteran: 140 - Michael Hamilton (16) 74, 66. Gross: 140 - Aaron Grant (+2) 70, 70. Third: 140 - Conor Curran (2) 73, 67. Fourth: 140 - Paul O’Callaghan (11) 71, 69. Fifth: 140 – Trevor Giff (12) 67, 73. Category 1 (<12): 141 - Brendan Duffy (12) 72, 69. Category 2 (1318): 143 – John McKeever (13) 74,
69. Category 3 (19+) 143 - Gerry Campbell (26) 69, 74. Final Round (18 Holes) – Category 1 (0-11): Austin Shaw (9) 69, Kevin Barry (10) 70/32. Category 2 (12-16): Patrick McEntaggart (15) 70/33.5, David Smith (13) 70/34.5. Category 3 (17+): Sean Taaffe (20) 70, Nicholas McShane (18) 72/38. Saturday Qualifier (August 4) – Overall: Stephen Lynch (7) 70. Category 1 (0-12) David Lynch (12) 73/33. Category 2 (13-18): Alan Cole (13) 71/31.5. Category 3 (19-28): Joe Flanagan (21)
72. Sunday Qualifier (July 29): Overall; Gregory McCaughey (8) 66/33. Category 1 (0-12): Andrew Brodigan (12) 68, Barry Grennan (11) 69/32.5. Category 2 (13-18): August Carroll (15) 66, John Paul Casey (16) 67. Category 3 (1928): Paul Lynch (22) 67, Benny O’Shaughnessy (19) 69/31.5. Qualifying Rounds – Junior: Dillon Green (5) 72, Andrew Keenan (3) 73, Juvenile: James Reilly (19) 71. CSS: Sunday Qualifier 72, Saturday Qualifier 73, Final Round 72.
Wednesday, August 1 – Open Singles Stableford – Overall: Brian McDonnell (13) 43pts. Category 1 (0-10): Shane Hession (4) 40pts. Category 2 (11-18): Ciaran Dunne (13) 37/17pts. Category 3 (19+): John G Daly (24) 38pts. Best Gross: Shane Hession (4) 36pts. Juvenile: James Reilly (19) 38pts. CSS: 72/36pts.
DUNDALK LADIES
CAPTAIN Gerry’s Prize to the Ladies was an 18-hole Stroke GOY and Medal played last Tuesday.
The scoring was extremely competitive and good with Paula Bishoff winning the overall prize, beating Katherina Conneally Sloan on count back.
Both ladies had a superb 70nett. Paula was absolutely thrilled with winning this Golfer of The Year Competition. She spoke of her delight at the presentation. Katherina was also delighted and spoke about her steady round of golf and how excited she was to win.
Deirdre Smith won the Gross with a fantastic score of 73 of playing of +3.
Congratulations to all the winners. Lady Captain Pat thanked Captain Gerry Byrne for his beautiful prizes and complimented him on the work he has done for Dundalk Golf Club.
Result: 1st Paula Bishoff (30) 70/37 nett, 2nd Katherina Conneally Sloan (21) 70/37.5 nett Best Gross: Deirdre Smith (+3) 73 Gross Class A - 1st Jennifer Holland (14) 71 nett, 2nd Elizabeth McGuinness (19) 73 nett, 3rd Elaine Ward (11) 74 nett.
Class B - 1st Evelyn Fallon (28) 71/34 nett, 2nd Sally McDonnell (27) 71/35.5 nett, 3rd Zara Wadding (22) 73 nett.
Class C - 1st Bernadette Kearney (36) 74 nett, 2nd Sinead O’Callaghan (33) 75/35.5 nett, 3rd Teresa O’Mahony (32) 75/37 nett.
9 Hole Ladies Competition - 1st Deirdre Clarke(19) 20 points, 2nd Ann Kirk (30) 17/11/8points.
Nearest the Pin - 1st Deirdre Smith 11’2”.
FATIMA
THE Fatima Open for the Gerry Gallagher Memorial and Kevin Mathews Memorial will take place this coming Saturday at Ballymac Golf Course - tee times from 2.30 to 3.30pm.
The main sponsors of the event are Fast Fix, Cullens Emporium, McManus Tyres and Mullens (Castletown Road).
There are prizes for the first five, plus front nine, back nine, longest drive and nearest the pin and the presentations will take place afterwards at 8pm in Lennon’s Bar (Castletown Road), with food served and music and craic.
Entry to the competition costs €30 and can be submitted by contacting Paul Mathews (085-7226163), Leo Martin (086-8550687), Frank Cullen (0863109535) or Paddy (The Caddy) Murtagh at 087-9732709.
GREENORE
RESULT from the Centenary Trophy, sponsored by Leo Larkin Electrical and played on July 29th: 1st Keith Carron (9) 69, Gross prize Gavin McErlean (1) 77; Cat 1 Brian Farrell (9) 70, Cat 2 Matthew Lynch (11) 71, Cat 3 Larry Dunne (20) 71.
Visitcarlingford.com Tuesday Series Open Gents Singles, played on July 24th and sponsored by Jenkinstown Pharmacy: 1st Dermot O’Farrell jnr (13) 39pts, 2nd Brian Rafferty (9) 38pts, Gross prize Paul McCullagh (3) Kilkeel GC 34pts, 3rd Stanley Jelly (17) Portadown GC 38pts.
The visitcarlingford.com Tuesday Series Open Gents Singles today (Tuesday) is sponsored by McGeough’s Bar and Restaurant,
Every Wednesday Greenore’s Fun Fourball is played over 12 holes with a bit of humour, music and craic afterwards in the clubhouse. This is open to ladies and gents - entry €4 for members and €8 for visitors.
Every Friday there is an Open Gents Nine-Hole Qualifying competition and our next Open Seniors will be on Monday August 27th.
Timesheets are available online at www.greenoregolfclub.com or from our pro shop at 042-9373951.
We are available for clubhouse functions. For bookings contact 9373212 ex 3 or Doreen at 0862333384.
GREENORE LADIES
THURSDAY’S Open was won in fine style by Marian Jordan with 40 pts earning her a one shot reduction in handicap.
The course looked a good deal greener for the McHugh Cup staged on Saturday. Fionnuala Gaffney etched her name on the cup with a fine score of 71 nett trimming 2 shots off her handicap. Seana McGuinness came runner-up with 74 nett. Nora Gormley claimed the Front Nine with 36.5 nett on a countback and Aideen McGahon the Back Nine with 37 nett. There was only one two which Sheila Berrills sank on the 6th.
Regular Thursday Open continues on the 9th August.
Book your partner for our Play in Pink charity day next Saturday when we stage the National Breast Cancer Four-ball Better Ball SF qualifying competition. Prizes for 1st, 2nd, and Best Gross pairs. The top 20 nett and 6 gross winning scores from all Four-ball