Well Worth winner at Hilary outing:NIALL WORTH from The Island GC led the way in the RaboDirect Hilary outing at the Royal Dublin Club on Sunday. Worth, playing off a handicap of five, got the best possible start to his round with birdies at the opening two holes to set him on his way.
He then he safely navigated his way comfortably around the Dollymount Links until he came unstuck at the final hole, where he hit his approach shot into the famous garden and out of bounds.
Yet, despite finishing with a double bogey six, Worth’s nett score of 72 was enough to secure him victory. It left him a shot ahead of Royal Dublin’s six-handicapper Gerry O’Dwyer, whose 73 beat his fellow Royal Dublin club member Liam Hutchinson (2) into third place on a countback.
County Louth’s Danny Coyle won the gross prize with a fine score of 72, beating his clubmate and Gold Medal leader, Gerard Kelly on a countback. The team prize was won by third-placed Hutchinson, who combined with Jim Toal from St Anne’s and The Island’s Declan Moran for a score of 60.
The next outing for the society is a visit this Sunday, March 27th, to Co Louth.
Anyone seeking further details should log on to their website on www.hilarygolf.ie
Fundraising classic for two Olympic sailing hopefuls
THESE are exciting times for many young Irish sports stars with the countdown to the 2012 Olympic Games in London under way.
Talented sailors Ger Owens and Scott Flanigan are pursuing their dream of Olympic medal glory. Their immediate focus is preparing for the main Olympic qualification event in Australia in December.
Owens is a double Olympian who won two races at the last Olympics in Beijing, while Flanigan will be one of the youngest sailors ever to compete in the Olympic Games for Ireland should they qualify. Both of these athletes are extremely dedicated to their sport. However, they will only be able to compete at the highest level with sufficient funding so that they can attend the necessary events and training camps over the next 18 months.
To offset some of the costs they will incur during their Olympic campaign a fundraising golf classic will take place at The Island Golf Club this coming Friday, March 25th.
Several sports stars have indicated they will be taking part including 1995 Ryder Cup hero Philip Walton.
There are still some team places available on the timesheet. Anyone interested should contact event organiser Kevin Flanigan on 086 2590505 or email: kevinfflanigan@gmail.com
Darren Clarke Golf School
THE Darren Clarke Golf School, formerly Junior Golf Academy, has opened its recruitment for the September 2011 intake. The only school of its kind on the island of Ireland, students aged 16 and over study at the golf school located at the Greenmount Campus, Co Antrim, which is also home to the Golfing Union of Ireland (Ulster Branch) Golf Greenkeeping Academy.
Students follow a two-year full-time residential programme giving them the opportunity to develop their golfing skills, whilst gaining a high level of education. Further details are at www.darrenclarkegolfschool.com
Ko wins Australian amateur strokeplay
NEW Zealand’s 13-year-old Lydia Ko survived a two-hole play-off against her rival and close friend Cecilia Cho to win the Australian women’s amateur golf strokeplay championship in Melbourne on Saturday.
In a New Zealand 1-2, Ko claimed the trophy after making a tap-in birdie on the second play-off hole while Cho three -putted from long range at Melbourne’s Huntingdale Golf Club after both players finished on six-under par. Cho, the defending champion, made a birdie at the 17th to give her a share of the lead for the first time. She was forced to make an excellent up-and-down from behind the green at the last to force the play-off.
Cho, the world number one amateur, narrowly missed a 10-metre birdie putt on the first extra hole while Ko saw her three-metre effort slip past. Ko made no mistake when they replayed the par-five 18th.
Tullamore's history in print
A GLARING omission in the story of Tullamore Golf Club, amongst the oldest in Ireland, will be rectified this Sunday when a history of the club will be launched at the clubhouse in Brookfield.
Two years ago a small committee set about the task of compiling a record of the club from its formation in 1896 when a nine-hole course was located at the nearby racetrack at Ballykilmurray.
Legend has it that the game has been played in the town from 1886 onwards. It is known that an earlier nine-hole course was at Tinnycross on the eastern outskirts of Tullamore in 1894/95.
A move to the Briscoe lands at Screggan had taken place by 1906 where it was based until 1926 when the club relocated to its present home at Brookfield.
Although women were members of the club from the beginning, a ladies branch wasn’t formed until 1912. This centenary will be celebrated in 2012.
Profiles of its most famous members, the late Kitty MacCann, British Open Champion in 1951, and Denis White, East of Ireland Champion in 1976, are included with accounts of many other successes over the years.
Hutton wins Alliance Captain's Prize
THE Captain’s Prize (Eoin Buckley from Hermitage) of the Leinster Alliance was held last Sunday at a sunny but cold and windy Royal Dublin GC.
Despite the testing conditions, scoring was of a high calibre and did not deter young Robert Hutton from The Island GC who scored an excellent level-par back nine on his way to bringing home 41 points off a handicap of six.
That secured him the Captain’s Prize by three shots from his good friend Niall Worth (5) also from The Island, who was second on the last hole, with the best of the 38 points, edging out Pat Lynch (6) of Slade Valley.
The best gross prize was won by Tom Freeman, a two handicapper from The K Club with 35 points, as he got home on the back nine from Pio Leary (scratch) from Lucan.
The last outing of the Leinster Alliance season will be held at Killeen Castle on Sunday, May 8th with the tee-time from 11am to 4pm. Time-sheet will be open in early April.
