Clare ladies head for Clonmel

A number of ladies teams from Clare clubs will be in Clonmel this Saturday for the Munster ladies team finals.
Dromoland, Shannon and Lahinch have teams competing for provincial honours.
Lahinch will be the first into action, taking on East Cork in the Junior Cup final at 10am.
In the intermediate final, Shannon will take on Thurles at 10.50am. Dromoland have two teams in finals with the minor team playing Templemore at 11.40am and the Challenge cup team taking on East Cork at 12.30pm.
Each team comprises five players playing in singles and at least three must win for the team to progress to the national finals that will take place in September.

Holmpatrick Cup
Lahinch, having won the Clare final of the Holmpatrick Cup at Woodstock in July, have reached the final hurdle in their “race to St Andrews” at Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Resort on Sunday.
Harry Eakins (14) and Ger Dunworth (6) contest the Munster final, where they will have stern opposition from teams representing Slievenamon (Tipperary), Williamstown (Waterford), Limerick GC (Limerick) and Castleisland (Kerry).
The winners here will travel to St Andrews on Sunday, October 9, with the other provincial winners from finals at Farnham Estate GC, Cavan (Connacht /Ulster) and Portmarnock GC (Leinster and Dublin) where they will compete in the All-Ireland 36-hole final over the new and old courses before returning on Tuesday, October 11.
This annual golf event, which starts at club level nationwide in May, is a fundraiser in aid of NCBI, which is celebrating 80 years.
This year, in recognition of the work club competition secretaries perform throughout the year, it was decided to invite a fourball. representing them to the Holmpatrick Cup final. They will be selected in an open draw from the clubs participating and will play in a competition at the Dukes Course at St Andrews.

Dromoland
Sandy Smyth was the winner in the ladies bumper medal stroke on Sunday at Dromoland, from Maire McMahon and Mairead Bergin.
In the Eileen Murphy foursomes, the winners were Joan Ryan and Mary O’Donnell.
In the men’s v par competition, Stephen O’Mullan was the winner with 4-up from Lorcan Hassett on 2-up and Sean Burns on 2-up. Philip O’Sullivan won the second for over 18 handicappers while the junior winner was Ryan O’Neill with 2-up.
In the team of four competition in open week, the winners were Sean Burns, Eoin Garrihy, Gordon and Cormac O’Neill with 90 points from Alan Neville, David, Brian and Martin Casey on 89.
In the junior’s single Stableford competition the category 1 (handicap 0-17) winner was Thomas Dormer with 42 points from Daniel Reddan on 38 and Aaron Donegan on 38.
In category 2 (handicap 18-28) the winner was Colm Fitzgerald with 44 points from Paddy O’Malley on 38 and Aiden Walsh with 38. Cormac Walsh won the gross with 31 points.
In the ladies singles Stableford competition, Suzanne McConway was the winner with 41 points from Mairead Bergin on 34 and Kathleen Noonan on 33.
The winners of the fourball scramble were Alan and Philip Ryan, Brian Arthur and Jason O’Donnell with 53.25, from Michael and Mervin Hehir, Eric Murrihy and Evan Talty with a similar score. In third spot were Ross Darmody, Colm O’Callaghan, Eoin Glynn and John Mulcahy 56.62, followed by David and Colm Fitzgerald, Eoin Garrihy and Shay O’Callaghan with 57.12.
In the two-person rumble, Sean Shanahan and Aaron Duggan were the winners with 57 points from Declan O’Leary and Donnagh Moynihan on 54 points with third spot filled by Frank McNamara and Brian Arthur with 51 points.
Aaron Duggan was the winner of the men’s open singles with 38 points from Declan O’Leary on 36 points, Thomas Hehir on 35 points and Daniel Reddan on 35 points. Nicky Duggan won the gross with 35 points.

Lahinch
Ruth O’Gorman (21) was the winner of the ladies singles v par competition on the Castle course last week with a score of 4 up.
In the Auburn Lodge trophy, a ladies Stableford competition on the Castle Course, Lahinch were the winners with 116 points from Ennis on 111 and Kilrush on 109. Ann Marie Russell from Woodstock returned the best gross with 29 points while Barbara Foley Lahinch had the best nett with 36 points.
In the Eileen Murphy foursomes on the old course, Edwina O’Brien (2) and Karina Doyle (24) were winners with 38 points.
The men’s singles Stableford competition on Saturday was won by David Conway (3) with 38 points from Niall Shaw (5) on a similar score. Diarmuid Leonard (4) was third with 38 points followed by Eoin Glynn (8), also with 38 points. Declan McInerney won the gross with 37 points.
In the ladies fourball aggregate on the Castle course on Sunday, Eadaoin Furey (18) and Trish Kelleher (26) were winners with 71 points from Ruth O’Gorman (20) and Jacqueline Joyce (14) with 64 points.
In the men’s fourball Stableford on Sunday, Harry Buglar (8) and Sean Kelly (8) were winners with 42 points from Peter Hennessy (4) and Michael O’Loughlin (12) with 41 points. In third spot with 38 points were Jim Fehily (17) and Gerry Pierce (7) with 38 points.

Woodstock
Michael Foley (17) was the winner of the open singles at Woodstock with 44 points from Pat O’Donoghue (15) on 43 points.
In the Junior Scratch Cup, Robert Singleton (5) from Newcastle West was the winner with 69 from Gerry Kelly (7) with 68 and Bernardo Kelly (7) with 68.
Liam O’Connor (13) won the Intermediate Scratch Cup with 65 from Dermot O’Neill (15) with 65 nett and Jim McMahon (12) with 67.
The winner of the Minor Scratch Cup was Thomas Fogarty (19) with 69 from John O’Dwyer (21) with 71 and John McCarthy (20) with 75 nett. There will be a club singles on Saturday while the Senior Scratch Cup will be the competition on Sunday.

Shannon
Mary Sheehan has being nominated as incoming vice-captain for 2012 at Shannon. Mary, who is the present ladies secretary, has been a stalwart of the ladies committee for many years.
The ladies competition was the vice-captain’s prize (Lynn Kelly), which saw Hilary Clein complete a notable double having already won this year’s lady captain’s prize. She just edged out Helen O’Donnell courtesy of a better back nine, both having returned 40 points. Vie Leahy was one shot back in third place on 39 points. The back nine was required again to separate Pauline Kilmartin from Eileen Carey, both returning 36 points. The gross was captured by Margaret Hope with 26 points.
The Wednesday open singles saw Tom McMahon capture the spoils with 43 points. Tom covered the front nine in level par highlighted by a birdie at the sixth and an eagle at the eighth. Tom recorded a further birdie at the thirteenth.
In second place on 42 points was Paul McElligott. Highlights of Paul’s round were birdies at the second and eighteenth. Alan Dunlea captured third place on 41points due primary to an excellent back nine which yielded 22 points. The gross was won by Jim O’Grady with a level par round of 36 points which yielded four birdies at the second, fifth, sixth and eighteenth.
At the weekend the men and ladies turned out in big numbers for the president’s (Bernard Ryan) prize. When the dust settled on Sunday evening, Iggy Cullen reigned supreme with 45 points but depended on a superb back nine to relegate Joe McGrath into second place.
When Iggy turned with 19 points hopes of victory were far from his mind but a superb back nine despite a triple bogey on the 16th propelled him to victory. Iggy was two under gross for the other eight holes recording birdies at the 13th and 15th. He pipped Joe McGrath who had nines of 24 and 21, highlighted by a birdie at the second. Joe will regret a birdie at the 18th that in the long run was to deny him victory.
New member Michael Jones had a remarkable front nine which he covered in three under gross for a remarkable 27 points. On his front nine Michael’s only concession to par came at the seventh but was offset by birdies at the first, fourth, fifth and eighth holes.
The wheels came somewhat off on the back nine but a further birdie at the 18th left him in third position. The gross was won by Peter Power Jnr with a level par round.
In the ladies section Noeleen Neylon captured the spoils with 72nett. Noeleen had one shot to spare from Michelle Pyke and Brid Walsh both returning 73nett. Debbie Reddan was fourth with 74 nett relegating Jean Wason into fifth place courtesy of a better back nine. The gross was captured by Jean Murphy Wright with 85.
The men’s September medal will be played for this weekend while the ladies will also play for the September medal.

Kilkee
The winner of the lady captain’s (Angela O’Connell) prize at Kilkee was Lena O’Connor (26) with 64 nett from Phil O’Brien (23) on 70nett, Ann Cronin (21) with 70 nett, Sheila Clancy (29) with 71 nett, Kathleen O’Carroll (33) with 71nett, Elizabeth Liddy (19) with 71 nett and Ann Fox (29) with 71 nett. the gross was won by Gina O’Connor (13) with 83 while the nines were won by Mary McGivern (17) 33.5 and Attracta Leyden (19) with a similar score.
In the team of three rumble last week, the winners were Ann Cronin, Phil O’Brien and Eimear Gilligan with 89 points. In second place with 82 points were Breda Hayes, Nuala and Yvonne McGann with 82 points.

Kilrush
In the men’s singles Stableford competition at Kilrush for the ESB cups, Brendan Carigg (20) was the winner with 40 points from Pakie O’Dea (14) with 38 points and Tom Coffey (11) with 38 points.
The lady captain’s (Geraldine Burke) prize to the men was the competition on Sunday when David Egan (10) was the winner with 39 points from John Stapleton (18) with 37 points and Tony McMahon (17) with 37 points.
In last week’s ladies 18-hole competition the winner was Martina Hannon (26) with 42 points from Anne Gallagher (19) with 40 points, Mary Young (20) with 37 points and Anne Brennan (10) with 37 points. Niamh Whelan (10) won category one with 34 points, Margaret Griffin (26) won category two with 34 points and Petrina Keane (29) won category three with 35 points.
Last Thursday’s ladies competition was won by Mary McCarthy (27) with 69 nett from Margaret Hehir (23) with 69, Imy Kerrigan (16) with 69 and Stephanie Roughan (29) with 72. Anne Brennan (10) won the gross with 85 while the nines were won by Deborah Glynn and Margaret Griffin.
Sheila O’Grady (2) was the winner of the lady captain’s (Geraldine Burke) prize with 69 from Marion Brennan (19) who had a similar score. Mary Bolton (22) was next with 70 followed by Helen Williams (36) who also had 70. The nines were won by Muriel Kiely (31) and Ger O’Byrne (36) while Jean Lorrigan (27) won the past captain’s category with 73 and Margaret Donnelly (20) won the committee prize with 73.
Last week’s men’s seniors competition was won by Tom Coffey, Tom Cleary and Mick Lane with 66 points from Tom Prendeville, Tom Clarke and John O’Neill with 65 points. In third spot with 62 points were John Stapleton, A O’Connor, Noel Cooney and Paddy Carmody with 62 points.

Spanish Point
The various open days continue to be well supported at Spanish Point with a good number of visitors. Work on the new 8th green is on schedule and it’s expected to be ready for play by next spring. When opened it will bring the layout back to the original design by well-known professional golfer, Austin Skerritt (RIP), and the par will then be 68 with the new green presenting a particularly challenging approach shot.
The winner of the captain’s (Michael Hennessy) prize to guests was Michael Waters (8) Lahinch with 39 points from Michael Vaughan (10) Ennis/Lahinch with 36 points.
In last week’s seniors open the winner was Willie McNamara (16) with 42 points from John Moore (15) with 37 points.
In the Thursday open, Fiona Coffey (27) Leopardstown GC won with 43 points from Michael Shiel (12) with 41 points and Jonathan Wilson (16) with 41 points.
The Friday evening nine-hole team scramble was won by Eoghan O’Loughlin (4), Maurice Mulvanny (18) and Kathleen Twomey (28) with five under gross.
The weekend scotch foursomes stroke was won by Bernie O’Halloran (20) and Martin Casey (19) with 55.5 nett.
This weekend there will be a golfer of the year stroke event and a timesheet will operate.

Ennis
The Ennis seniors team of three modified scramble last week was won by Pat Shannon, Paul Mockler and Tim Kelly with 74 from Pat Cahill, Aidan Guilfoyle and Dick Herbert with 71. In third place with 71 were John McLaughlin, Michael Nunan and Joe O’Brien followed by Tom Pender, Charlie McEnery and John R Cullinan with 67.
Meanwhile 372 members played in the president’s (Michael Vaughan) prize at Ennis last weekend.
Eddie Glenny emerged as the winner with a score of 42 points and he was followed by Anthony Coote with 40, Peadar Cosgrove with 40, Joe O’Brien 40, Nigel Guyler 39 and Patrick Garry 39.
In the gross section the winner was John Hoey with 32 from Brian Gilligan 31 and Andrew Whelan with 31.
Noel Pyne won the past president’s award with 32 points while the category winners were Dave Pender with 38, Sam Doyle with 38 and Michael Glynn with 39. Eoin Vaughan won the guests section with 32 points.
In the ladies section the winner was Joan Barrett with 39 from Jean Molony on 38, Aileen Considine on 35, Sinead Hegarty on 35 and Bridie Keane on 35. Sarah Cunningham won the gross with 33 while the nines were won by Suzanne Deane with 19 and Della Burns with 20.

Portumna
In the 18-hole single Stableford competition at Portumna on Sunday the winners were Tim Walsh (10) with 41 points from Iggy Broder (19) with 39 points and Michael Glynn (9) with 39 points. The gross was won by JP McLoughlin (2) with 32 points while the winner of the senior’s category was John Kennedy (17) with 36 points.
The Portumna ladies beat Sligo in the Minor Cup final at Portumna over the weekend to secure their place in the All-Ireland finals in Ardee next month. Portumna are the holders of the title. The score was 4.5 to 0-5 and the team is captained by Carmel Cunningham.
Portumna are the Connacht seniors champions. The final was played out over two legs, the first being in Portumna on Saturday when Portumna won three matches and lost two. They went to Claremorris needing to win three matches out of the five. They won four, losing one to the host club Claremorris, leaving the overall score at Portumna 7 Claremorris 3. The team captain is Pete Gibbs.
The Cecil Ewing team went down to Connemara Isles, 3/2 last week. This was going to be a tough match from the outset, Portumna had three matches at home and two away. Connemara Isles won their two home matches and took one out of Portumna giving them the final result 3/2.
There will be gents and ladies open singles in aid of breast cancer this weekend.

East Clare
East Clare members will, this weekend, play for president John S Kelly’s prize. A big turnout of members is expected for this competition for which a timesheet is in operation.
Last week the men’s Senior Scratch Cup resulted in victory for Dromoland’s Tony Cleary with 74 gross. He had a stroke to spare over Eoin McGuinness with Alan Butler from Ennis in third spot, also with 75.
In the Junior Scratch Cup Dermot O’Donoghue won with 74 gross from Oisin Brady on 76.
The men’s singles competition was won by Joe Barriscale (13) with 36 points from Tim Walsh (18) with a similar score.
Brigid Minogue won the ladies singles from Breda O’Loughlin with Evelyn Skehan in third spot.
In the men’s seniors competition the winners were Richard Keating, Michael Fitzpatrick and Noel Enright from Jim Greene, Jack Manly and John S Kelly with third spot filled by Flan Mullane, Tom Moloney and JJ Barton.
The ladies seniors event was won by Pauline Nugent, Mary Joe Minogue and Sarah O’Halloran from Pat Williams, Georgina Wright and Maria Moloney.
The winners of Friday’s scramble were Ger O’Brien, Chris Davis and John S Kelly from William O’Brien, Marie A Kelly and Val Donnellan.
Last week Tara Whelan and Ciara Magill did the club proud when representing their province in the Inter-Provincial Girls Championships in Cahir Park. Tara had two wins and one loss while Ciara, who was making her debut, had one win one half and one loss.

Clarecastle
Johnny Meere was the winner of the recent Newmarket outing to Shannon. Liam Barry was second with John McGrath in third spot. The nines were won by Mike Foley and Jason Considine. T Fawl won the guests section with D Murphy the runner-up.

Lifford AFC
Lifford AFC are holding their annual Frank Flaherty Memorial Cup Golf Classic at Ennis on Saturday, September 24. This marks the 50th anniversary of the club and is a significant event in this year’s celebration. Further details are available from Ferdie O’Donoghue on 086 3289041.

Pitch and putt
Niall Seery was the winner of the captain’s prize at the Clare Road Pitch And Putt Club on Sunday. PJ Considine was in second place followed by Michael Kerin.
The 36-hole gross prize went to Marty Fawl with Gareth Kerin winning the 36-hole nett prize. Gabriel Kerin won the prize for the final 18 and he also won the putting competition. Marty Fawl won the prize for nearest the pin while Tony Clancy scored a hole-in-one.
In the ladies competition, Helen Daly was the winner from Mary Murphy.
The winners of the scramble were Michael Kerin, Paddy Sheedy and Tony Clancy while the gross was won by Noel Cuddihy, Declan Sheedy and Joe McElligott.