Golf notes

DUNDALK GOLF CLUB

A solid evenly balanced round of 20 points on both nines was enough to get Caoimhin O’Callaghan, playing off a 28 handicap, over the line to take the winners prize in the weekend Cathedral Finance Autumn 18 holes Singles Stableford competition at Dundalk Golf Club.

He set out with three two-pointers on the opening holes, built on that consistent start with a one over five at the par-four index one-fourth hole for three points and boosted his climbing score further with three points at the par-five sixth and par-four eighth.

Despite stumbling a bit at the par three ninth where he had a five for one point, O’Callaghan still reached the turn on 20 points.

He maintained his consistent accumulating of points well into the homeward nine with three two-pointers and one three-pointer from the 10th to the 13th holes, tagged on another three points at the par four 16th hole before finishing in style with a par four at the 18th hole for four points to come home with 20 points.

Pearse Murphy, playing off a 14 handicap, also had 40 points, 20 on each nine, but had to settle for the runners-up prize after a countback.

His scoring never dipped below two points, he had seven of them and two three-pointers on the outward nine and repeated that scoring pattern on the back nine.

Division 3 winner Michael Hamilton (22) also finished on 40 points and had a memorable opening nine, parring the par-four first hole for three points and accumulating five more three-pointers to reach the turn on a highly impressive 23 points.

He battled to keep that level of scoring momentum going on the back nine with one-pointers at the 15th and 16th holes taking from his otherwise solid return of six two-pointers and a par four for three points at the 14th hole.

The Division 1 winner was Bobby McCarthy (10) while the Division 2 prize went to Richard Smyth (16).

An impressive start on the front nine that included a par four at the first for three points, followed by a one over at the par four-second hole for two points and a birdie three on the third hole for four points set Andrew Brodigan, playing off a handicap of 14, on his way to eventually emerging winner of the midweek Open Singles Stableford competition, sponsored by McKenna Man, with 42 points.

Andrew built on his good start to go on to record five two-pointers and three points with a par five at the seventh hole to reach the turn on 22 points.

His back nine was equally consistent, collecting three-pointers with pars at the 11th, 15th and 17th holes and holding his score solidly together with five two-pointers to finish the closing nine with 20 points.

Andrew’s better back nine just squeezed out Sean Matthews (13) who also finished on 42 points but had to settle for the Division 1 winner’s prize, coming up just one short with 19 points on the closing nine.

For Sean it was a case of what might have been, after a stuttering start with one point on the opening hole he then set off on a blistering scoring spree, carding four three-pointers in a row including pars at the par four-second, third and fourth holes, a birdie two at the fifth hole, followed by another birdie at the water protected par five seventh hole for four points, to reach the turn on 23 points.

He battled hard on the back nine, parring the 12th, 16th and 18th holes for three-pointers but lapses in between saw him finish the closing nine on 19 points. The other two divisional winners were Eamon Hoey (22) and David Corrigan (36).

The Men’s Presentation Night will be this Saturday, November 9 at 7.30 pm and will include the presentation of the medals to the Junior Cup team that reached the All-Ireland semi-finals.

Other presentations will be for the Gold Medal, Club Champion, Men's Foursomes, Mixed Foursomes, Harry Walsh Cup, Carolan Cup, IJM Golfer of The Year plus IJM Senior, Junior, Intermediate and Minor Matchplay

Saturday, 26 October and Sunday, 27 October - Cathedral Finance Autumn Series 18 Holes Singles Stableford - Overall: Caoimhin O’Callaghan (28) 40/20/13/8pts, Pearse Murphy (14) 40/20/13/6pts. Division 1: Bobby McCarthy (10) 39pts, Barry Cunningham (7) 38pts. Division 2: Richard Smyth (16) 38pts, Dessie Ward (18) 37pts. Division 3: Michael Hamilton (22) 40/17pts, Richard Copas (21) 38pts. Gross Recognition: Caolan Rafferty 39pts.

Wednesday, 30 October - McKenna Man Open Singles Stableford - Overall: Andrew Brodigan (14) 42/20pts. Division 1: Sean Matthews (13) 42/19pts. Division 2: Eamon Hoey (22) 39pts. Division 3: David Corrigan (36) 36pts.

Dundalk Ladies

Results for 18-hole Stableford played on Saturday 28th September and Tuesday 1st October 2024.

Division 1: Winner: Ann Hopper 16.0/21 (20) 40 pts; Runner up: Criona O’Reilly 7.8/11 (10) 39 pts; Third: Niamh Maguire 20.8/26 (25) 39 pts.

Division 2: Winner: Theresa Catherine Smyth 25.0/31 (30) 45 pts; Runner up: Brid Rocks 22.6/28 (27) 40 pts; Third: Catherine Duff 24.0/30 (29) 36 pts.

Division 3: Winner: Mary Hession 32.4/40 (38) 39 pts; Runner up: Nuala Henry 33.2/41 (39) 35 pts; Third: Marie Griffin 36.4/45 (43) 34 pts.

9 Hole Competition: Winner: June Desmond 25.9/16 (15) 21 pts; Runner up: Marcella Carr 31.5/20 (19) 19 pts.

MANNAN CASTLE GOLF CLUB

Open Summer Series

Our winner this week was Phillip McGovern with a brilliant score of 42pts. With a superb birdie two on the 1st, this set Phillip up perfectly for a great round. The runner-up was Eugene O’Hanlon, who scored 39 points. Third place went to Patrick Byrne on 38pts.

Summer Series Week 6 1st August 2024

1st - Phillip McGovern (PH.13) – 42pts; 2nd - Eugene O’Hanlon (PH.10) – 39pts; 3rd - Patrick Byrne (PH.16) - 38pts c/b.

Bank Holliday 2-Person Scramble 5th August 2024

Winners A Dolan & N Sherlock - Nett 63

Mannan Castle Men

‘Franktastic’ Kelly wins Fergal Brady’s 2024 captain’s prize. A jam-packed weekend for our golfers, and it didn’t disappoint with brilliant golf played in some very challenging conditions. The first round was played on Friday and Saturday, and 92 players advanced to the final round on Sunday.

Like every year, the top 12 players qualified for the 9-hole playoff Sunday evening. The cutoff was 68 points, which averages out to two 34-point games and shows how good the scoring was.

A great mix of golfers played Sunday evening, with Frank Kelly the one to catch going into the playoff with 80pts. Conor Finnegan was his closest challenger on 74 points, and it didn’t take long for Conor to close the gap with a superb birdie two on the first hole.

Frank’s lead going into the playoff proved too much for anyone to bridge with the hard work done over the first 36 holes. 15pts on the final 9 holes was enough to finish on a total score of 95pts.

Surprisingly, this was Frank’s first major victory and getting the taste for it now, it definitely won’t be his last win. Finishing in second place was Conor Finnegan with a total score of 90pts.

No doubt Conor will be in plenty more playoffs in years to come and can hold his head up high after a brilliant performance. In third place was Darren Campbell on a final score of 87pts.

This was Darren’s first playoff and again showed no signs of nerves playing great golf in tough conditions. The gross prize went to Mark Lambe on a score of 65pts.

A special mention to the 12 golfers who made the playoff, Frank Kelly, Conor Finnegan, Eamon Sherry, Darren Campbell, Michael Marley, Kevin Coleman, Joe Quigley, Liam Morrissey, Vincent Duffy, Luke McGeown, David McGuiness and Eoin Morrissey.

On behalf of Captain Fergal Brady, he would like to thank everyone for making it a memorable weekend for him and his family and congratulations to all the winners.

2024 Captain Fergal Brady’s Prize August 3rd/4th

1st - Frank Kelly (PH.15) – 95pts; 2nd - Conor Finnegan (PH.16) – 90pts; Gross - Mark Lambe (PH.0) – 65pts; 3rd - Darren Campbell (PH.15) – 87pts.

Other Categories

1st - Barry Murphy – 38pts; 2nd - John O’Brien – 37pts; Past Captain - Dick Bourke (PH.16) – 66pts. Round 1 - Eamon Sherry (PH.22) – 41pts; Round 2 - Michael Marley (PH.20) – 38pts; Back nine Sunday - James Hand – 21pts.

Mannan Castle Seniors

Mannan Castle Seniors held their usual weekly competition on Tuesday over 9 holes. While there was a lot of steady scoring resulting in a congested leaderboard one score stood out.

Bernard Crawley maintained his recent good form backing up an exceptional score two weeks ago with yet another here.

That win resulted in him incurring a 2-point penalty which reduced his score from 23 to 21 points. It was however still good enough for a comfortable overall winning score.

In category 1 Club President Eamon Trainor had an almost error-free card with his only hiccup being on the par 4 thirteenth hole. He signed for an excellent 19 points.

Category 2 winner Eddie Rouiller recovered from a no score on the fourteenth hole to finish with a great par on the final hole and 18 points.

In category 3 Enda Clerkin scored on each of the nine holes with excellent 3 points on 4 holes in his 19 points.

Senior 9 Hole Competition Tuesday 6th August

Overall: Bernard Crawley (18) 21pts (23-2); Category 1: Eamon Trainor (10) 19pts; Category 2: Eddie Rouiller (12)  18pts; Category 3: Enda Clerkin (16)  19pts

Mannan Castle Ladies

Squally and blustery conditions didn't deter Teresa Butler from delivering the winning round this week. A steady front nine was followed by a storming back 9, finishing with a flourish by parring the last two holes, for a total of 39 points.

Natasha McCahey makes an impact when she plays and this time, she hit the ground running with seven pars in the first eleven holes. The back five weren't quite as friendly but still produced a total of 38 points for a clear second place.

But for an unfortunate misstep on the final hole, Jo Barry could have finished further up the order. Solid play elsewhere, including three pars, still returned 37 points, taking third place on countback from one other player. Congratulations and well done to everyone who played.

Special thanks to Mannan Castle kind sponsor - The Scullery, based on the Carrickmacross, Shercock Road www.instagram.com/the__scullery/

Michelle and her team have been catering delicious meals to Mannan Castle for our inter-club team events for the last few months.

Women’s 18H Stableford sponsored by The Scullery 7th August 2024

1st Teresa Butler (23) 39 pts, 2nd Natasha McCahey (21) 38 pts, 3rd Jo Barry (23) 37 pts c/b

GREENORE GOLF CLUB

Sunday, 27th October 14 Holes

C1 - 8: Micheal Savage 8.0)8) 30pts; C2 9-16: Frank McCracken 16.3)15) 33pts; C3 17-22: Michael O'Neill 19.6)18) 30pts; C4 23 +: David MacDonald 35.1)31) 25pts.

Note: Playing Handicaps will use 14/18ths of Course Handicaps. Stroke Indexes 1 to 14 for holes in play.

Saturday, 26th October: Sf Winner: Patrick Farrell 12.9)15) 43pts. 2nd: John McCartan 18.4)21)) 40pts. Gr: Adam McDonnell +1.8)+1) 37pts. 3rd: Andrew Coffey 17.0)20) 39pts.

Thursday, 24 October: Sf Winner: Liam Power 17.8)21) 37pts.

Tuesday, 24 October: Open Gent's Tue Singles Winner: Pat Cunningham 29.9)34) 41pts. 2nd: S Jelly, P'down 22.2)26) 40pts. Gr: Richard Coburn, B'bridge 4.5)6) 31pts. 3rd: David Gilmore, P'down 21.8)25) 40pts.

Sunday, 20 October: Sunday 18H Sf. Winner: Clinton McKeever 14.9)18) 40pts.

Saturday, 19 October: Saturday Sf. Winner: Martin Beggy 18.3)21) 40pts. 2nd: Brian McDowell 10.6)13) 38pts. Gr: Shane Hollywood +1.3)0) 36pts. 3rd: Derek Larkin 15.8)19) 37pts.

Thursday, 17 October: Thursday Sf. Winner: Conor Selfe 23.2)27) 43pts.

Tuesday, 15 October: Open Gent's Tue Singles Winner: Patrick Fearon 15.4)18) 41pts. 2nd: Gerry Finn 12.2) 15) 41pts.