The Short Game: Irish seniors international Maurice Kelly mastered the elements best in the final round to win the Spanish Seniors Championship in Bonalba GC Alicante on Sunday.
Five shots off the pace going into the final round the Killeen man produced a level par 72 in very testing conditions for a 222 total to win by three from Scotland's George Rodaks with local player Alvaro Herrero taking third place on 226.
Kelly had rounds of 75, 75 and 72 while the overnight leader, Eustaquio Delgado, slumped to a final round of 82 to slip to fourth place.
Hugh Donnelly from South County finished in 13th place after rounds of 73, 84 and 74 for 231 while Hugh Smyth from the Mourne club shared 26th place in 237 after rounds of 76, 85 and 76.
Putter with a price
A putter owned by the legendary Samuel Ryder fetched €24,000 at Bonhams golfing memorabilia sale in Chester recently.
The circa 1910 Robert Forgan mallet-shaped putter was one of only two owned by Ryder, the entrepreneurial golfer who gave his name to one of the sport's most famous competitions, the Ryder Cup.
Not only is it stamped with the initials "SR", but it was also sold with a signed letter from the godson of Joan Scarfe Ryder, Samuel Ryder's daughter, which charts the history of the putter.
Bidders also vied for other golfing treasures, including a winner's silver medal won by Muriel Dodd at the 1913 British Women's Open Championship, a competition heralded as the "Coming of Age" Championship for women's golf. The medal clearly captured bidders' hearts, doubling its estimate to sell for €13,000.
Thomson in third
Scotland's Michele Thomson boosted her Curtis Cup selection hopes by finishing third - ahead of two other LGU elite squad players - in the Portuguese women's open amateur golf championship at Benamor Golf Club on the eastern Algarve on Sunday.
In very windy conditions, 17-year-old Spanish ace Carlota Ciganda from Pamplona won the title with a closing 74 for an eight-under-par total of 276.
Ciganda, who has a handicap of plus five, spread-eagled the field with an eight-under-par course record 63 on Saturday, to win by eight shots from Germany-based 18-year-old Florentyna Parker who shot 73 for 284 with Thomson two shots back in third place on 286 after a 72.
Welsh Curtis Cup hopefuls Breanne Loucks and Sahra Hassan finished joint fourth on 289.
Gillian O'Leary from Cork GC was best of the Irish on 302 after rounds of 79, 75, 73 and 75 with Niamh Kitching on 306 after shooting 79, 75, 77 and 75.
Victoria Bradshaw and Karen Delaney both missed the cut for the final round after finishing on 239.
Walker's perfect start
Leslie Walker got his year off to a good start with a three-shots win in the Boyne Links Alliance at Castleknock GC last week. The Dundalk professional shot a level par 72 to win by three from John Dignam from Slade Valley with Emmet Staunton from the host club and Finian Dwyer from Celbridge sharing third place on 78.
Tadgh Harrington, from Hermitage, was a clear winner of the amateur nett with 41 points off a 10 handicap from Seamus Quinlivan from Carton House on 35 and Tony Grey from Hermitage and Paul Browne from Laytown and Bettystown on 32. The amateur gross was claimed by Kevin Commins from Ardee GC with 29 points.
Harrington, with Ciarán Tighe from Castlewarden and Michael Stanley from Carton House took the team award with 46 points. The final outing of the winter season is at Carton House on March 13th.
Meanwhile, snow put pay to the latest outing of the North Western Golfing Alliance. They had been due to play in Portsalon GC on Saturday, but the wintery conditions and a blanket of snow ended any hopes of play, so they now await their next outing on Saturday, February 23rd, when they will visit Rosapenna GC.
New home for LET
The Buckinghamshire GC in Denham is to become the new headquarters of the Ladies European Tour. Over the next few months the LET will relocate from their current base in Cheshire to the Buckinghamshire, which has hosted many high-profile events and last year was the venue for the Kingdom of Bahrain Trophy-Seniors Tour Championship. LET executive director Alexandra Armas said they chose the venue, on the outskirts of west London and close to the M25, because of its location and accessibility. "The association between the Ladies European Tour and the Buckinghamshire will be mutually beneficial and will help to improve the branding of both parties," she explained.
Europro Tour venue
Aspiring hopefuls from the PGA Europro Tour, many of whom are Irish players, will play one of Europe's finest courses when it returns to Portugal in July. The Oceanico Golf resort in Vilamoura will host the three-day event across the Victoria and the Millennium courses. The Victoria is one of Portugal's premier venues, designed by seven-time major winner Arnold Palmer and hosted last year's Portugal Masters won by Steve Webster.
The new venue on the Tour also has a new pro-am format similar to the Dunhill Links, with details to be confirmed. There will be 200 professional slots.
Danny Nickless, operations manager of the PGA Europro Tour, said: "We are absolutely delighted that Oceanico will be supporting the PGA Europro Tour yet again in 2008. Having Vilamoura on our schedule really does emphasise the tour is going from strength to strength. I have been lucky enough to play both the Millennium and the Victoria and not only will they be a great test for our players but a real treat as well as they really are world class courses," he said.
