Cathal O’Neill wins first major at Dundalk Golf Club

Cathal O’Neill won his first major when he won Eddie Rogers’ President Prize at Dundalk Golf Club over the weekend of August 23 and 25.

Playing off 19, he produced an exceptional round in which he managed to keep a double bogey off his card and had nine pars and nine bogeys as he went out in 41 gross and came home in 40 gross for a nett score of 62.

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That was enough to give him a two-shot victory over the reigning Golfer of the Year, Frank Byrne, who shot a nett 64 off 13.

O’Neill parred the first, fourth, sixth and eighth on the way out to turn in 31 nett, and after pars at the 10th and 11th, he had further pars at the 14th, 15th and 17th to come home in 31 nett and take overall victory.

Byrne, playing off 13, also produced a round with no double bogeys, as he shot a gross score of 77.

His round included a birdie four at the 10th and a birdie three at the 18th as well as pars at the second, third, fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth as he went out in 33 nett.

Pars at the 12th, 15th and 16th, as well as those two birdies, saw him come home in 31 nett.

Dean King (8) shot 67 nett to win Division 1 on countback from the President’s son, Brendan, while Padraig Fallon (16) also needed countback to win Division 2 after both he and Chris Connolly (13) shot 66 nett. Countback was also needed in Division 3, where James Rogers (24) pipped Robert Lynch (19) after both had shot 65 nett.

Chris Clarke marked his 21st birthday by winning the gross prize with a level par 72, while Brian Crombie (24) won the Veteran’s Prize with a 67 nett, and that score also propelled him to the top of the Golfer of the Year standings with just one round to go.

Ben Walsh (8) shot 43 points to win the latest edition of the McKenna Man Open Singles Stableford last Wednesday. He got a great start with two birdies in the opening three holes and added another at the 14th.

A double bogey five at the fifth and a bogey six at the 12th were the only blemishes on a card that saw him go out in 22pts and come home in 21pts.

Dean King (7) won his second Division 1 category in four days as he shot 42pts to win the low category, while Michael Flynn (12), having been pipped for overall victory on countback after also shooting 43pts, took Division 2. Tim Jewell (28) with 37pts won Division 3, while Joseph Laverty with 38pts was the gross winner.

Congratulations to Caolan Rafferty, who has been named on the Ireland team for the Eisenhower Trophy, which will take place between October 8 and 11 on The Tampines Course in Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore.

This will be Caolan’s first appearance in the competition and follows his recent selection as the reserve on the Great Britain & Ireland team for the 2025 Walker Cup match against the USA in Cypress Point, California, on September 6 and 7.

In addition to finishing runner-up in the South of Ireland Championship at the beginning of this month, Caolan was also part of the Ireland team, which finished fourth at the European Amateur Team Championship in Killarney in July.

Making the Eisenhower Cup team means Caolan has now played on all international men’s teams that he is eligible for, which is a remarkable achievement.

Good luck to the Women’s Junior Cup team who go in search of a green pennant this weekend at the All-Ireland Finals in Tandragee. They face Galway in Friday morning’s quarter-final at 8.30 am.

Saturday, August 23 and Sunday, August 24 - Eddie Rogers’ Presidents Prize GOY 9 - Overall: Cathal O'Neill (19) 62, Frank P Byrne (13) 64. Division 1: Dean King (8) 67, Brendan Rogers (10) 67, Mark Cumiskey (10) 68. Division 2: Padraig Fallon (16) 66, Chris Connolly (13) 66, Cormac Malone (12) 68. Division 3: James Rogers (24) 65, Robert Lynch (19) 65, Charles Sheppard (24) 67. Gross: Chris Clarke 72. Veteran: Brian Crombie (24) 67.

Wednesday, August 27 - McKenna Man Open Singles Stableford – Overall: Ben Walsh (8) 43pts Division 1: Dean King (7) 42pts. Division 2: Michael Flynn (12) 43pts. Division 3: Timothy Jewell (28) 37pts. Gross Recognition: Joseph Laverty.