Result from Sunday’s singles stableford: 1st Alex Byrne 39pts, 2nd Scott Gaughran 38pts, 3rd Richie Moore 37pts.
Saturday’s singles stableford: 1st Garry Dunne 36pts, 2nd Vivien Cooney 36pts, 3rd Noel E Maher 35pts.
Last Friday’s open singles stableford: 1st Bernard Skelly 38pts, 2nd Garry Dunne 37pts ,3rd Hans Balfoort 37pts.
Last Wednesday’s open singles stableford: 1st Cian Mathews 31pts, 2nd Graham Pentony 29pts, 3rd Michael Mathews 27pts.
There is a mid-week early bird offer available – €50 for two with a buggy up to 11am – and there are membership specials to the end of the year also.
Dundalk
Eoin Murphy won the Club Championship for the third time in five years on Saturday after the event was reduced to 18 holes as thunder and lightning forced the cancellation of the second round.
Murphy won on countback from Conal Murdock after both had shot level par rounds of 72, with defending champion Caolan Rafferty a shot further back.
Rafferty had got off to a great start with a birdie at the first but then double-bogeyed the second and bogeyed the sixth to find himself two over after six holes. Three successive birdies from the ninth got him back under par, but two more bogeys at the 12th and 14th saw him sign for a one-over par 73.
Murdock, who had finished second in the Golfer of the Year despite missing the final counting event, brought that form into the Club Championship and, after a bogey on the first, he produced birdies at the third, sixth, seventh and eighth to turn in three under par. He was unable to find any more birdies on the home stretch and bogeys at the 11th and 12th meant he was level par when he stood on the 18th tee.
Murphy, who was playing alongside Rafferty, also struggled on the second and walked off with a bogey as the rain came down, but he recovered with birdies at the fourth, fifth and eighth to turn in two under par. He was still two under with six holes to go after a birdie at 12 balanced out a bogey at 10. However, three successive bogeys from the 14th saw him drop back to one over.
The 18th hole was recently renamed Harrington’s Challenge because of the impact it had on the career of three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington and once again it proved to be the decisive hole in deciding the outcome of an event.
Playing in the first group, Murphy birdied the hole to come home in level par and leave Murdock, who was in the third group, needing just a four to post the best first-round score, but he bogeyed it to also finish on level par.
At that stage the players had only completed the first round of the 36-hole competition and they were one third of the way through the second round when thunder and lightning in the area saw all players taken off the course and the second round cancelled.
That resulted in the first round determining the outcome and Murphy took the title on countback, with his back nine of 38 bettering Murdock’s by one shot.
Ben Cahill has got off to a good start at Maynooth University with two excellent performances for the college’s golf team. He helped Maynooth University to victory in the Students Sport Ireland Golf Championship in Bunclody. 4Playing at number three, he was a 5&3 winner over Ryan McCarthy from University College Cork in the final as he gave Maynooth their first point from the first three matches and they won the last two to take the title.
Last week he was the leading Maynooth player at the R&A Student Tour Series in Halmstaad, Sweden. Rounds of 71, 74 and 76 gave him a three-round total of five over as he finished T10 for the tournament, which was won by Patrick Curran from the National College of Ireland.
Johannes Steenvoorden’s excellent season has continued into September as he won the opening round in the Autumn Series, sponsored by National Tile and Flooring. Playing off 22, he shot 40 points and edged out Brendan Reilly (17) on countback for the victory.
Steenvoorden went out in 17 points, with his only three-pointer coming at the par five sixth, but it was a different story on the back nine where a birdie at the par five 12th and pars at the 10th and 17th helped him come home in 23 points.
Neal MacKell (0) took Division 1 with an excellent score of 39 points which also earned him the Gross recognition prize. Division 2 was won by Ciaran Dunne (16) who pipped Ollie Reilly (15) on countback after both had shot 39 points. Countback was also needed in Division 3 as Paul Heaney (20) took the honours ahead of Michael Begley (19).
It was a good week for Ciaran Dunne as he won the McKenna Man Open Singles Stableford on Wednesday after shooting 41 points off 16. His round included six three-point pars and just one double bogey as he scored at every hole.
Fearghal Duffy (13) took Division 1 with 40 points, while Pat Donaghey (18) won Division 2 with 37 and Danny O’Neill from Mannan Castle shot 39 points to take Division 3.
The Boys U13 team won the McCooey Cassidy Cup on Sunday in Greenore as they beat County Louth by three holes. The panel is Emmet Cronin, Cathal Lyons, Finn McDonnell, Alex Wilson, Aaron Martin and Cian McKinnon.
Good luck to the Golf Sixes team who are in the All-Ireland Finals this Sunday in The Grange. They head there as Leinster champions, having won the provincial title last month in Millicent.
September 6/7 National Tile and Flooring Autumn Series – Singles Stableford – Overall: Johannes Steenvoorden (22) 40pts, Brendan Reilly (17) 40pts. Division 1: Neal Mackell (0) 39pts, Paul Murphy (3) 38pts. Division 2: Ciaran Dunne (16) 39pts, Ollie Reilly (15) 39pts. Division 3: Paul Heaney (20) 38pts, Michael Begley (19) 38pts. Gross Recognition: Neal Mackell 39pts
September 10 McKenna Man Open Singles Stableford – Overall: Ciaran Dunne (16) 41pts. Division 1: Fearghal Duffy (13) 40pts. Division 2: Patrick Donaghy (18) 37pts. Division 3: Danny O’Neill (27, Mannan Castle) 39pts.
September 13 Club Championship Singles Stroke Sponsored by Leslie Walker – Overall: Eoin Murphy 72/38, Conall Murdock 72/39, Caolan Rafferty 73.
Dundalk Ladies
Results from the 18-hole stroke GoY competition played on September 7 & 9 were as follows:
Div 1 winner Ann Hopper (22) 64, 2nd Fionnuala Dullaghan (23) 69, 3rd Maureen Sheridan (20) 69; Div 2 winner Angie O’Hara (30) 68, 2nd Joyce Connolly (25) 69, 3rd Joan McKenna (32) 69; Div 3 winner Martina Byrne (36) 64, 2nd Yvonne Bagnall (45) 68, 3rd Rita Mulholland (40) 70. Nine-hole winner Finola Oakes (25) 35, 2nd Nuala Henry (18) 36.
Results from the 18-hole stableford played on August 30 and September 1 and sponsored by Gardiner Family Apothecary were as follows:
Div 1 winner Mairead Garland (25) 39pts, 2nd Ann Hopper (18) 35pts, 3rd Fionnuala Dullaghan (21) 35pts; Div 2 winner Margaret McCourt (28) 36pts, 2nd Hermione Duffy (33) 34pts, 3rd Gillian Murphy (31) 34pts; Div 3 winner Joanne Lynch (35) 41pts, 2nd Mary Dwyer (45) 38pts, 3rd Oonagh Quinn (34) 35pts. Nine-hole winner Siobhan Keane (19) 20pts, 2nd Nuala Henry (19) 19pts.
Mannan Castle
Our last major of the year – Professional Chris Blackmore’s Prize – saw a high number take to the course, with the scoring lower than usual.
Conditions played their part, with cooler, more damp weather returning.
Joe McGeown, who plays off 14, won with a score of 38 points on the Saturday morning. Joe had a stellar year last year and it’s no surprise to see him pick up another big win before 2025 is out.
The runner-up was Vice Captain John Minnock (16) with a score of 37 points. A back nine of 19 points was enough for John to finish second on the countback from 33-handicapper Graham Sweeney. It’s great to see Graham enjoying his golf.
The gross prize went to Bernard Rooney with a three over par round on the Sunday morning that saw him return 33 points.
Paul Trainor, who plays off 26, won the open singles stableford played the weekend before last with an impressive 39pts. In tough conditions Paul won by the odd shot from 29-handicapper Michael Gallagher.
Congratulations to Fergal Brady and Michael O’Rourke who amassed 25 points to win last week’s 9 & Dine competition (sponsored by Art McCrory) which attracted another full house.
This week’s 9 & Dine runs from 4 to 6 pm, so book your tee time now and bring a friend.
Our Open Classic Four-Person Champagne Scramble is on September 26, 27 and 28 and you can book your team now by calling 042-9663308.
Seapoint Ladies
Results from last Thursday’s stableford competitions were as follows:
Eighteen-hole winner Deirdre Boyle 39pts ocb; Nine-hole winner Marion McConnon 20pts ocb, 2nd Deirdre McFerran 20pts.
Congratulations and well done to everyone who played.
And again – please return all cards!
