The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
The leading seven players all scored 37 points, with Geraldine Ryan finishing in top spot ahead of Mary Ann Sheils and they were followed by Julie Newman, Angela White, Julie Fitzgerald and Karina Doyle. The gross winner was Dorothy Brennan, who also scored 37 points, while the nines were won by Dorothea Madden and Mary O’Donnell, both with 21 points.
Dromoland held a v par competition at the weekend when the winner was Mick Shinkwin with five up from Sean Burns, who had a similar score. Leonard Shanahan was third with four up ahead of Pat Kelly, who also had four up. The junior winner was Brian Cassidy with one up.
There will be an 18-hole singles Stableford competition with re-entry this bank holiday weekend.
Dave Foley and Ian St John won the Irish PGA fourball in Headfort on Wednesday and have now qualified for the 54-hole PGA fourball finals in Forest Pines in England in October.
Dale Foley from Dromoland was the winner of the gross section in the intermediate scratch cup last week, with 84.
The winner of the nett section was Philip O’Sullivan with 72 from Alan Larkin with 73 and Tim Kenneally with 74.
The timesheets are now open for junior and senior scratch cups, which are both being held on August 18.
East Clare
The lady captain’s (Mary Collins) prize was played for at East Clare at the weekend when the winner was Leslie O’Flynn with 42 points, from Bernie Bohan with 40, Celia Moloney with 40, Mairéad Toomey with 39, Bridie Hanrahan with 38, Margaret McNamara with 38, Marese Mannion with 38 and Sue Casey with 36. Ciara Magill won the gross with 31 points.
Other prizewinners included Jean Fleming with 38 points (past captains), Mary Beatty (longest drive), Tara Whelan (nearest the pin), Evelyn Skehan (front nine) and Sheenagh Sullivan (back nine).
In the nine-hole competition, the winner was Michelle Bennett from Geraldine McNamara. The lady captain’s prize to the men was won by Martin Mason (18) with 40 points from William O’Brien (8) with 39 points.
In last week’s ladies’ seniors outing, the winners were Evelyn Skehan, Mary Joe Minogue and Marie A Kelly. In joint second place were Deirdre Cooney, Phil Burke and Sue Casey along with Nancy Starr and Joan Kinsella.
In the men’s seniors competition the winners were Pat Clancy, Steve Symes and Kieran Sheedy from Gerry O’Brien, Martin Quinn and Jim Bradley with third spot filled by JJ Barton, Nick Ryan and Paddy Moloney.
This weekend the men’s club are holding the senior, junior and intermediate scratch cups. The ladies’ club have an 18-hole singles golfer-of-the-year event.
Woodstock
The weekly seniors competition at Woodstock last week was a team-of-three waltz played over 16 holes.
The winners were Brendan Arthur, Matt Power and Tom Kenneally with 74 points.
A waltz is a form of best-ball competition for three or more competitors, in which the number of balls to be scored is based on par.
A modified waltz is sometimes used for three-person teams or high handicap players.
In the open singles on Wednesday, the winner was Tony Nugent (4) with 40 points from Aidan Mulcahy (6) and Anthony Sweeney (3), both of whom also scored 40 points.
The winners of the captain’s (Eugene Phillips) fourball at the weekend were Michael Hayes (10) and John Dempsey (13) with 49 points from Colm Mullen (5) and David McCarthy (10) with a similar score. In third place with 47 points were Joe Green (12) and Peter Cosgrove (20) with 47.
This weekend, members will play for the captain’s (Eugene Phillips) prize in a stroke play competition. The top 21 players will play off over nine holes on Sunday for the prize.
The captain’s prize to the ladies will also be played for on Sunday, with the tee reserved from 1 to 2pm.
There will be a modified open fourball (any combination) on Monday.
The winners of the mixed scramble last week were Ramona Gleeson, Seamus Kelly and Mark Torpey with 37.7.
The ladies’ 18-hole Stableford competition winner was Patricia Graham with 31 points.
Ladies will play for the Eileen Murphy foursomes on Tuesday and Sunday (August 11) while there will be an 18-hole stroke medal competition, a player of the year competition, on Tuesday August 13 and Sunday, August 17.
Lahinch
In the ladies’ singles Stableford competition on Monday, July 22, the winner was Imelda Gleeson (22) with 50 points from Mary O’Brien (22) with 41 points, Áine O’Brien (31) with 40 points, Marjorie Ahern (10) with 40 points and Frances Hough (23) with 38 points. Olivia Lucas won the gross with 36 points.
Saturday’s men’s singles Stableford competition on the Castle Course was won by Robert Browne (4) with 43 points from Myles Gallivan (15) with a similar score, Rory O’Neill (17) with 42 points and Liam Joyce (2) with 42 points. Andrew Cloonan won the gross with 36 points.
In a similar competition on the Castle Course on Sunday, Bryan Tiernan (18) won with 45 points from Gavin Browne (9) with 43 and John Wallace (14) with 42.
Ennis
The men’s seniors group held a team-of-four competition at Ennis last week when the winners (two scores to count at each hole) were John Joe Keane, Matt Flynn, Sean Fitzpatrick and Paschal Russell with 81 points from Paddy Cahill, Martin Connolly, Dick Herbert and Pat Cusack with a similar score. In third spot with 80 points were Tony Blake, Pierce Cahill, Jimmy McNamara and Jimmy Kearns followed by Michael Dempsey, Johnny Cullinan, Ned Ryan and Tom Purcell with 77 points.
The open singles on day two of open week was won by Liam O’Dwyer from Gerard Hannon with Sean O’Reilly third and Mark Duffy fourth and all four scored 40 points. The winner in the ladies’ section was Geraldine Lynch with 39 from Maura Ryan with 36 and Della Burns with 36.
The fourball competition on day three was won by Aongus O’Grady and Ger O’Brien with 46 points, from Trevor White and Kealan O’Flaherty with 44, Tom and Andrew Kelly with 42 and Adrian Rushe and Stephen Keane with 41. The ladies’ competition was won by Kitty Morris and Mary Gardiner with 43, Marianne McGough and Áine Burke with 38 and Barbara Foley and Bridget Hoey with 37.
The competition on day four was a team of four and the winners in the men’s section were Eamon Kelly, Tony Lynch, Mike Butler and Charlie McEnery with 92 points, from David Rushe, Stephan Keane, Brian O’Gorman and Adrian Rushe with a similar score. In third spot, also with 92, were Martin O’Neill, Adrian Glynn, Jason Woods and Adrian Coleman.
The winners in the ladies’ section were Della Burns, Carmel Verling, Beatrice Foley and Maura Ryan with 93 points, from Mary McMahon, Clare Ruane, Geraldine Lynch and Maureen Sweeney with 82 points.
In the team-of-three scramble at Ennis on Monday, the winners of the men’s section were Noel Kenny; Joe O’Brien and Bob Loftus with 56.1. They won from Joe McCloskey, Mike Deasy and Sean Kitson with 59.5. In third spot were TJ Scanlan, Jason Woods and Leo Herbert with 59.8,
followed by Kieran Ryan, Ian Myatt and Peadar McMahon with 60.0.
In the ladies’ section the winners were Gráinne Dalton, Siobhán Conway and Maria Kelly with 62.5 from Kitty Morris, Mary Gardner and Carmel Cummins with 62.5, with third spot filled by Deirdre Molyneaux, Joan Barrett and Flor Coffey with 63.0. A total of 195 played.
Portumna
Pauline McEvoy’s centenary lady captain’s prize was played for on Sunday at Portumna when the winner was Bernie Kilmartin (36) with 70 from Mary Nevin (32) with 70, Ainta Carey (13) with 71, Annette Cahalan (21) with 72 and Mary McElroy (24) with 72. Suzanne Corcoran (2) won the gross with 81.
The winner of the past captain’s prize was Ena Moran (28) with 72 while the seniors’ section was won by Catherine Dunne (31) with 73. Mary Madden won the prize for nearest the pin while Kathleen Lynch was the winner of the long drive.
The lady captain’s nine-hole competition for men was won by Martin Sullivan (16) with 22 points from Ger Lynch (7) with 22. James P McLaughlin (scratch) won the gross with 19 points.
In the visitor’s nine-hole competition the winner was Sean Whelan with 18 points from Ultan Hynes with 15 points.
Kilkee
The ladies’ 18 hole Stableford competition at Kilkee last week was won by Anne Fox (29) with 45 points, from Ann Boyle (14) with 41 points with Marie McGuire (25) in third spot with 39 points. Mary McGivern won the gross with 21 points.
The next ladies’ open day will be on August 8 and a timesheet is in operation (065 9056048).
Doonbeg
Michael Killeen was the winner of the singles Stableford at Doonbeg on Sunday with 38 points from Kieran Golden with 36 and Brian Shanahan with 35.
Kevin Hayes defeated John Igoe in the final of the club matchplay at the weekend.
The manager’s prize will be played next Monday and tee times must be booked in the pro shop. The competition will be followed by the prizegiving and the draw for the fourball matchplay.
Gort
The winners of the men’s fourball Stableford competition at Gort at the weekend were David O’Dell (15) and John Tierney (14), with 44 points, from Pat Downes (15) and Brian O’Rourke (18) with 43 points. In third spot with 43 points were Ray Dolan (16) and Noel Ruane (18).
In the Friday open singles, the winner was Ryan Boyle (4) with 38 points from Aidan O’Donnell (12) with 37 points.
In the Monday open singles the winner was Sean Roche (25) with 48 points from Pat McNamara (22) with 41 points and Sean Cahill (9) with 40 points. The gross was won by Enda Cradock (1) with 36 points.
There will be an 18-hole open singles this weekend and a similar competition on bank holiday Monday.
In last week’s ladies’ singles the winner was Helen McCormick (21) with 38 points, from Jane Joyce (16) with 37 points and Ruth Naughton (19) with a similar score. In the Monday open singles, the winner was Deirdre Molyneaux (16) from Ennis with 38 points from Margaret Kelleher (21) with 31 points.
Shannon
The ladies’ special voucher competition at Shannon was won by Christina Halpin with a great score of 68 nett, closely followed by Mary Whelan (69 nett), Mary Flynn (71 nett), Madge Young (72 nett) and Dympna Hogan (73 nett). The gross was won by Michelle Pyke with 83.
In the open Wednesday singles the winner was Michael Allen (7) with 45 points from Allen Fitzgerald (15) with 43 and Fergus Murphy (14) with 42. Ed Hickey (scratch) won the gross with 38 points.
There was a big entry for the August medal, which was won by Joseph Brady (14) with 65, from Donal Walsh (2) with 66, Larry Egan Junior (6) also with 66, Patrick Halpin (13) with 66, James O’Flynn (17) with 67, Neil Ruan (10) with 67, Kieran Considine (9), with 67 and Aidan Moloney (12) with 68. Gerry O’Connell (7) won the gross with 74.
Kilrush
Kilrush Golf Club hosted a very successful event in conjunction with The Gathering on Friday and Saturday last. The format was a team of three scramble (any combination). Sixty-three teams played in the event, with people re-entering on the second day. Club officials were delighted to see so many people playing and to see some old faces back on holiday checking out the course. The weather for the most part was good and this helped the scoring, which was high.
The winning team consisted of a father-and-son combination of Mick and John Lane along with John Donnelly, who played twice on both days. Mick Lane is one of the club’s most senior members.
In last week’s men’s seniors outing, the winners were Tom O’Dea, Eric Dore, Barry Taylor and Aeneas O’Connor, from John Donnelly, Pat Donnellan and Tom McGrath, with third spot filled by Noel Cooney, Paddy Carmody and Seamus O’Doherty.
The winners of the ladies’ team-of-three competition were Anna Glynn, Patricia O’Donnell (both Lahinch) and Mary O’Halloran (Ennis) with 96 points from Mary O Connor, Trish Kelleher and Mary Ahern (all Lahinch) with 90 points. In third place was another all-Lahinch team of Pamela Morgan, Angela Cullinan and Connie Fahy with 89 points.
The lady president’s (Kathleen O’Brien) prize was played for last Thursday when the winner was Clare Pyne with 62 from Ailish Lorigan with 66, Geraldine Burke with 66 and Mary Young, also with 66. Niamh Whelan won the gross with 78.
The men’s singles competition on Sunday was won by David Byrnes with 42 points, from Anthony Burke, who had a similar score. Gearóid Williams was third with 41 points followed by Tom Coffey with 39.
Open week runs from this Thursday to Sunday, August 1.
On Thursday next the ladies will have an open fourball.
Spanish Point
The winner of the Tuesday open seniors Stableford competition at Spanish Point was John Fitzgerald with 40 points. The winner of the Friday open singles was Colm Beakey with 38 points.
Seamus McMahon with 40 points won the weekend competition from John Fitzgerald with 38 points and Tom Mernagh, who also had 38 points. In fourth place was Eoghan O’Loughlin, also with 38 points. This weekend, there is an 18-hole singles competition, which is part of the golfer-of-the-year series. The Friday evening scrambles are continuing. Eoghan O’Loughlin competed in the South of Ireland championship at Lahinch last Saturday and despite a very solid performance, was beaten two and one by Jason Rackard from Bunclody Golf Club.
Spanish Point are playing the semi-final of the Towns Cup in Rafeen Creek in Cork on this Sunday.
Sixmilebridge
Members of Sixmilebridge Golf Society played for their president’s (John Nihill) prize at Shannon last weekend when the winner was Adam Merriman, from Adam O’Halloran, with third spot filled by PJ Phelan followed by Vinny Purcell in fourth.
The winners of the nines were Eamonn Healy and Ollie Kearney, while the category winners were Ian Mulready, Dessie McDermott and Joe Joe Murphy.
Cooraclare-Cree
The annual Cooraclare/Cree Society captain’s day will be held at Kilrush on bank holiday Monday. Society captain is Ross Townsend and tee times can be had from him on 087 7107544 or society secretary Michael Studdert on 087 2299476. This is being held as part of the Rose of Clare festival and guests are welcome.
Scariff GAA
Scariff GAA Club held its annual golf classic at East Clare last week when the winners, with 101 points, were Martin Crotty, Paddy Madden, John Dreelin and Colm Reidy. In second spot with 100 points were Dave and Caimin Condren, Pat Carey and Ger Teefy, followed by Vinnie Henchy, Tara Whelan, Kevin Grimes and Mick Gough, also with 100 points. The winners of the ladies’ prize were Catherine Murphy, Nancy Starr, Celia Moloney and Bridget Minogue.
John Fennessy won the long drive while Seanie McMahon won the prize for nearest the pin.
Daly’s Day
John Daly held off tough competition to capture Jimmy Lahiffe’s president’s prize at the Corofin Society’s July outing at Gort last Saturday. It was a good week for Daly, who was part of the Gort team that claimed the Connaught senior’s title. John Williams finished second with Brendan McDonagh third and Martin Flaherty fourth.
McDonagh also won the longest drive with David Daly winning the nearest-the-pin competition. The nines were won by Michael Ryan, Tubber, and Pat Curtis. Thirty-two golfers took part on the day, making it one of the most successful club outings this year. Jimmy Lahiffe presented the prizes to the winners at the Gort clubhouse following the event.
Pitch and putt
At the Clare Road Pitch and Putt Club on Sunday, the strokeplay competition was won by Michael Kerin from Kevin Woods, with PJ Considine in third spot.
