Elite heading for Galway Bay

It has become traditional that The Irish Times/Mitsubishi Motors Women's Masters semi-final is played in brilliant sunshine and so it transpired last Thursday when 120 women coveted 30 places in the final.

Glasson Golf and Country Club once again hosted the penultimate stage of the competition, the beautifully manicured, championship golf course providing a picturesque backdrop to the competitive fare.

This year Glasson was able to offer competitors, who wished to stay over, accommodation as a 29-bedroom hotel has been opened since the tournament was here last year.

Christy O'Connor junior, happily some distance down the road to recovery from a broken leg, was on hand to offer the competitors some words of wisdom in negotiating a course he designed.

Many found the bunkering very difficult to negotiate and several encountered problems in reading the greens but the scoring did not reflect those travails.

Fermoy's Eileen O'Neill took the overall honours with an excellent 37 points, playing off a handicap of 23. Not only was she delighted for herself but the fact that club-mate Rita Mulvihill will also be making the trip to the final at Galway Bay Golf and Country Club on September 13th.

The Irish Times/Mitsubishi Motors Women's Masters attracted a record entry in this the third year of the competition. More than 160 clubs throughout Ireland organised a qualifying tournament and in excess of 630 women applied to the Masters this year. Qualifying for Glasson was an achievement in itself, Elm Park's Mary Grier leading the way with a staggering 49 points.

The top 40 golfers from three regions, Leinster, Munster and Connacht/Ulster qualified for Glasson and the cut off mark in the respective areas was 41, 39 and 38 points respectively.

There was a maximum handicap limit of 28. At Glasson the top 10 scores from the three regions qualified for Galway Bay.

Munster provided the top two scores overall with East Cork's Lillian Harrington finishing second on 36 points by virtue of a better back nine from Mary Conefrey of Co Sligo.

Harrington only took up the game seriously two years ago, having played a little bit when she was young. She decided to join the Carrignabfear Women's Golf Society and from there East Cork.

Playing off 21 last year, her handicap tumbled to 11, a figure she will return to after starting last week's round off 12. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience on a course she never played before.

The highlight of the round was a seven wood second shot to the 13th which she guided to a couple of feet and then holed the putt for birdie.

Her euphoria was checked on the next when she admitted that "being too greedy" she lost her drive but eventually scrambled a seven on the par five. She was a little concerned that her six on the 18th might cost her dearly but her worries proved unfounded. A slightly bemused looking Mary Conefrey was surprised and delighted to finish third.

In her seventh year playing golf and with a background in Gaelic football, she thoroughly enjoyed a course which she described as having no rough compared to that of her home course, Co Sligo. The most pleasing aspect of her round was the quality of putting: "I didn't have a three putt until the final green."