Ennis progress in Jimmy Bruen Shield

ENNIS won their section of the Jimmy Bruen competition at the weekend on their own course.
They opened their challenge for honours with a 4-1 win over Woodstock, who had defeated Dromoland in round one, and this put them into a section semi-final against Kilkee, where they won on a score of 3½ to 1½.
In other first-round games, Kilkee beat Kilrush, Shannon beat Spanish Point and East Clare accounted for Lahinch. Shannon then scored a 4-1 win over East Clare to set up a section final date on Sunday with Ennis. The home side won this on a 3½ to 1½ scoreline and they are now through to the North Munster semi-final against Roscrea or Adare Manor. This game will take place in Nenagh on June 24.
The members of the Ennis panel are Kieran Ryan and Paul Higgins; Victor Coote and Jason Woods; Alan Butler and Enda Heaney; Ian Myatt and Mark Geraghty; TJ Scanlan and Cyril Corry and David Hoey and Noel Kenny. The team is managed by Luke Coote.
Ennis men’s seniors’ section held their memorial competition last Thursday, when 88 members played.
The winner with 41 points was Frank White from Michael Torpey on 40 points. They were followed by Ned Ryan on 40; Jim Felle, James Ball, Tom Purcell and Pat O’Reilly, all on 39; Brian Higgins on 38 and TJ Kerins and Paul Mockler on 37. The category winners were Michael Vaughan on 36; Tom Greene on 37 and Pierce Cahill on 34.
In the ladies’ Bogey Cup v par, captain Phil Butler was the winner with two up from Yvonne Keohane on one up and Mary Woulfe (level).
In the beginners’ nine-hole competition, Mary Lenihan was the winner with 61. In the Friday open singles, Ruairi O’Cualain was the winner with 39 points from John McEntee on a similar score. Michael Reen was next with 39 points, followed by Gerard O’Brien on 38. Nicholas Ryan won the gross with 30 points.

Friends of Clare GAA
THE Friends and supporters of Clare GAA in Dublin hosted their 21st annual Clare GAA golf classic last week. The venue was Newlands and 33 teams competed. The funds raised go to the promotion of Gaelic games in Clare.
Sean Cleary’s team (Bradley’s Pharmacy) were the winners with 92 points from Merrion Investment Managers on 88 points. John Killeen’s Axa Insurance team was third with 87 points, followed by Sean O’Laoire’s team on a similar score. Sean O’Connor’s team, also with 87 points, was in third spot.
Clare GAA chairman, Michael O’Neill and senior hurling team manager, Ger O’Loughlin were both in attendance.

Lahinch
LUCY Simpson (4) Masserene brought in a wonderful score of 67 in the second round of the ladies’ Scratch Cup at Lahinch on Saturday to set a new course record, two shots better than the previous record held by Marion Riordan (Tipperary GC).
In glorious conditions, Lucy turned in 32 (five under) and had a back nine of 35. She won with a score of 144, a six-shot winning margin from Eileen Rose Power (scratch) Kilkenny, 150. In third spot was Karen Delaney (scratch) from Carlow with 155, followed by Niamh Ward (7) from Lurgan with 159.
In the nett category, Lisa O’Shea (12) from Shannon was the winner with 142 from Aoife Barry (5) from Muskerry with 149 and Emma Murphy (5) from Rosslare with 151.
Patrice Delaney (3) from Birr won the first 18 gross with 79 with Olivia Mehaffey (5) with 77. Lorraine O’Keeffe (12) from Thurles won the first 18 nett with 73 from Eileen Healy (12) from Macroom on 72.
Players from 28 clubs participated, including one from the USA.
Bill Frazer (12) was the winner of the Phelps Vase, a men’s singles Stableford competition, at Lahinch last week with a score of 39 points. Pádraig Hayes (10) was second with 38 points, followed by Hilary Haydon (14) with 37 points and Brian Rochford (16) with 37 points. Eddie Power won the gross with 34 points.
In the O’Loughlin Cup, a ladies’ singles Stableford, Suzanne Cagney (33) was the winner with 41 points from Georgina Condon (16), who scored 38 points. Jenny Cagney won the gross with 24 points.
In the men’s open last Thursday, Declan Lenihan (10) was the winner with 36 points from TJ Scanlan (7) on 34 points.
Don Kenny (17) won the men’s singles Stableford on Saturday with 39 points from Clem McCloskey (14) on 38 points and Donal Curtin (10) with 37 points.
In the men’s singles Stableford on Sunday, Paul O’Brien (6) was the winner with 28 points.
Michael O’Brien (15) from Woodstock won the Intermediate Scratch Cup on the Castle Course on Sunday with 66 nett.

Spanish Point
LAST week’s open was won by Joseph O’Rourke (20) with 41 points from Cathal Whelan (8) with 40 points, Michael Studdert (23) with 40 points and Ross Burke (14) with 40 points.
In the Thursday open, Eamonn McMahon (18) was the winner with 37 points. The Friday evening team scramble was won by Michael Hehir (11), Seamus McMahon (15), and Fred Haptonstal (23) with three under gross.
The winner of the Sunday singles was Pat O’Malley (17) with 37 points from Conor Egan (11) with 35 points and Eamonn McMahon (18) with 35 points. Next weekend there will be a fourball for the Holmpatrick Cup.
On the weekend of June 25 and 26, the Parent Club will hold a fundraiser, an open team of four, and the timesheet is now available in the clubhouse.
The Nazomi open day was won by Aoife Healy (12) on a score of 37 points. Martina Skerritt, Mary Brennan (East Clare), Sheilagh O’Grady (Kilrush) and Val Ross (Adare) were winners on a score of 36 points. An 18-hole competition will take place next weekend.

Dromoland
THE Dromoland lady captain’s day (Sandy Smyth) competition was played for in beautiful weather conditions on Saturday when Maria Nolan was the winner from Mairéad Bergin, with Emma Colleran in third spot, followed by Siobhán Dyar and Joan Ryan.
Other winners were Ann Nix (past captain), Anne O’Toole (junior girls), John Casey (men’s nine-hole competition), Suzanne McConway (front nine) and Fran Feighery (back nine). A very enjoyable social evening followed.
In the men’s Stableford competition, Sean Burns was the winner with 38 points from Tony Cleary with 38 points and Brian Shally on 37 points. Aaron Duggan won the junior section with 41 points. This week’s competition will be v par.
This weekend, the club’s mixed foursomes team will be in action in East Clare. The members’ scramble continues next Tuesday at 4.30pm and will be followed by an Irish-themed night in the Fig Tree Restaurant.

Woodstock
IN the Wednesday open singles at Woodstock, the winner with 44 points was Jonathan Chan (28) from Rory Callinan (14) with 40 points and Colin Heaslip (15) with 39 points. Sunday’s singles was won by Nicky Ryan (8) with 43 points.
The competition this weekend will be for the June medal.

Kilrush
THE ladies open fourball at Kilrush last week was won by Anne Brennan (11) and Mary Bolton (22) with 40 points from Mary G Nolan (20) and Stephanie Roughan (30) with 38 points.
In the ladies Open Day, Kilrush captain Geraldine Burke (21) was the winner with 42 points from Anne Brennan (11) with 39 points and Dolores Reidy (22) with 38 points.
In the ladies’ singles competition last Thursday, Kathleen O’Brien (27) won with 42 points from Majella Comerford (31) with 39 points and Anne Hogan (30) with 38 points.
In the men’s seniors’ team of three last Wednesday, the winners were PJ Maher, PW Glynn and M Roche from Kieran Lillis, Pakie O’Dea and John Robinson, with third spot filled by Tom Clarke, Tom O’Dea and Bill O’Mahoney.
In the Friday mixed, the winners were Finbar McMahon and Ursula Lineen with 59 from PW Glynn and Anne Hogan with 62.5, with third spot filled by Steven Guilfoyle and Pearl Mulcaire with 62.5. The gross was won by Pat and Anne Brennan with 72.
In the men’s singles on Saturday, Colm Murphy (18) was the winner with 41 points from Dermot Costelloe (11) (Adare Manor) with 39 points. In third spot with 38 points was Noel Thornton (16).
The vice-captain’s (Declan O’Donovan) prize will be played for on Sunday, June 25 and a timesheet will be in operation.
Open Week continues this week.
Due to the bad weather, Sunday’s June men’s open singles was postponed.

Shannon
EX-Wolfe Tones camogie player, Eileen Carey captured her first major since joining the club when she won the ladies’ special voucher with 68 nett. Eileen had two shots to spare from Ann Daly and Hilary Park, both returning 70 nett and occupying second and third places respectively. In fourth place was Ann Jones with 73 nett, while Naoimh McMahon captured the gross with 82.
The men’s open Wednesday singles saw Jason Hogan capture the spoils with 42 points. Jason laid the foundation for victory when he turned in one over for 24 points, highlighted by a birdie at the second. A moderate return of 18 points for the back nine was sufficient to see him home by two from Jamie O’Shea, who finished runner-up for the third week in succession. Jamie turned in two over par but came home in three under with no concession to par, recording birdies at the 11th, 13th and 18th. His 40 points just edged out visitor Jason Considine from Woodstock, courtesy of a better back nine. The gross was captured by Ed Hickey, with level par 36 points.
The men’s weekend competition was the June medal, which saw the first three past the post all return 68 nett. When the dust settled on Sunday evening, Ed Hickey, with a tremendous two-under-par round, proved victorious. Ed’s only concession to par came at the ninth but was offset by birdies at the eighth, 14th and 17th. Chris Harrigan and John O’Gorman were second and third respectively. John’s son, Ben O’Gorman was fourth, also on 68 nett. The gross was captured by Lewy Halpin Jnr with 73. The back nine was required to separate James Corry and Paul Lehane, who both returned 69, to fill fifth and sixth places respectively. Jason O’Donnell was second in the gross.
This weekend, the highlight of the men’s golfing calendar, the captain’s (Paschal Regan) prize will be played for on Friday and Saturday.
The intermediate scratch cup will be played for on Sunday.

Portumna
IN the men’s 18-hole Stableford 3Ts competition at Portumna, the winner was Kevin Daly (26) with 39 points from John Harte (7) with 37 points and Dave Burnett (18) with 35 points. JP McLoughlin (2) won the gross with 32 points.
The winner of the seniors’ section was TJ O’Callaghan (28) with 24 points.
In the ladies’ section, Ann Cassidy (4) was the winner with 39 points from Kathleen Lynch (16) with 35 points and Dagmar U-Werner (21) with 31 points.
Martin Kennedy (9) was the winner of the Monday open with 41 points from David Stapleton (19) with a similar score. David Ryan (7) was third with 40 points, while John Dwyer (5) won the gross with 35 points.
The president’s prize will be played this weekend and a timesheet will operate.
Open week will begin on June 25 and 26 and will feature fourball and singles competitions for men and ladies, as well as a three-ball competition.

Gort
IN the weekend’s mixed foursomes at Gort, the winners with 42 points were Kieran Grimes and David McAllan, followed by Don and Darragh Coen with 40 points, with third spot filled by Donal Callanan and Gerry Huban with 40 points.
Last week’s open singles (Joe McInerney memorial) was won by John Whelan with 43 points from Martin Callanan with 41, John O’Neill with 40 and John Skehill with 35 points. Jason McLynn won the gross with 33 points. In the ladies’ competition, Bernie Diskin was the winner with 34 points from Sara Broderick on 34 and Ann Jordan on 33 points.
In the ladies’ 18-hole stroke medal, Judith McGann was the winner with 72 from Gabrielle Warnock on 73.
Open week continues until Sunday and timesheets are in operation. The lady captain’s (Sara Broderick) prize to the men will be played for on Saturday and Sunday week.

Clare Teachers
THE Clare Teachers’ captain’s (Peter Quinn) prize will be played for at Ennis next Monday, when the tee will be available from 4pm to 6pm.
The outing will be followed by the annual general meeting at 9pm. A timesheet is in operation for the outing and details are available from Joan at 086 3167365.

Doonbeg
MEMBERS of the Doonbeg Society will play for the O’Dea Cup at Kilrush on Saturday when the tee will be available from 10am to 11.30am. A timesheet for the outing is available from Tom O’Dea at 086 2799254.
Clarecastle
CLARECASTLE Golf Society recently held their Founders Day outing at Ennis Golf Club. Jason Considine was the winner on the day, with Ken Morrissey second and Paschal Russell finishing in third place. The nines winners were John Callinan and John McGrath. Gerry Gallagher won the guests’ section.
The next outing is the Captain’s Day at Portumna on Saturday, June 25, where the first tee has been reserved from 9am. A timesheet will operate on the day. Members and guests intending to play should text 086 3246015 with their preferred tee time.

Sixmilebridge
SIXMILEBRIDGE Golf Society will have an outing to Nenagh on Saturday, where the tee is reserved from 10.30am to 11.30am.

Éire Óg
KILRUSH will be the venue on Saturday for an outing for members of the Éire Óg Society. The tee is reserved from 9am to 10am and details are available from secretary, Tom Corbett at 086 3895895.

Corofin
ONE of the newer Corofin Golf Society members captured Paddy O’Dell’s President’s Prize and the Jimmy Keane Cup at East Clare Golf Club in Bodyke last Saturday.
David O’Loughlin finished ahead of Brendan McDonagh and David Daly, with the minor places taken by Pat McCarthy and Michael Ryan (Tubber). John Daly and Mary McNamara won the nines.
The Corofin club also held an outing in Nenagh recently and Darren Kierce emerged the winner in this event, with Paul Ryan second from David O’Loughlin and Margaret Whelan. Mary Coen and David Daly won the nines.