The Open Week at Woodstock House Golf and Country Club proved to be something of a benefit for the Coote family, of hurling fame. Six of the family picked up prizes, with some visiting the winning podium on more than one occasion.
The week began on a winning note when brothers Declan and Paul won the fourball with 46 points. Paul later teamed up with Mark Guerin to finish second in the Holmpatrick fourball behind the winners Frank Garrihy and Darragh Lynch. Declan joined two more of his brothers, Tony and Luke, to finish second in the Team of Three Rumble and then joined Barry Smythe, Sean Heaslip and Tony Roche to win the Team of Four with 105 points. Luke, meanwhile, teamed up with his son Colm to win the Scotch Foursomes and Colm finished second in the Lady Captain's Prize to the Juniors. Luke also won the Lady Captain's Prize to the Men and, not to be outdone, Luke's wife Joan took the back nine prize in the Ladies Singles and also won a prize in the Lady Captain's Prize.
Mary Copeland from Wicklow Golf Club and Tom Fahey from Nuremore will be the Irish representatives in the Peugeot Challenge World Tour finals in Paris on June 23rd.
In last week's Irish finals, played in a constant downpour at Druids Glen, Copeland's 76 off 10 handicap was six shots better than Yvonne Morrison (Cahir Park) and Margaret Lacheiner (Ennis) to win the ladies prize while Fahey had nine shots to spare when shooting 71 off 18 to beat three handicapper Denis Nagle (Kilrush) into second place with Paul Flood of Athy third.
By coincidence, both Irish winners qualified from the same semi-final event. Fahey and Copeland now go on to the International event in Paris and should they play well enough to reach the top 50 per cent in the event they will qualify to play in the Pro-Am which kicks off the Peugeot French Open at Le Golf National course in Paris.
Lillian Behan, the recent winner of the Irish Ladies Close championship, continued her good form when she won the Ford Ladies Challenge last week and the Irish Pride Curragh Ladies Scratch Cup on Saturday. Behan's total of 136 gave her a seven-shot winning margin over Maura Morrin (Naas), with Finola Donnelly of Forrest Little third and Yvonne Cassidy of Dundalk in fourth place. The nett prize also went to the Curragh with Marion Byrne, a nine handicapper, shooting 134 for the 36 holes. In the Ford Challenge, Behan shot a nett 66 off plus one.
Ballinrobe's Mary Nolan hit the magic 50 points in the Moran Oil Singles on her local course last week. Nolan's record round included four pars and a birdie which came at the par three 16th. Nolan, a 33 handicapper who has been playing the game for only three years, is Vice President of the Irish Countrywomen's Association and was introduced to golf by the association's national golf competition. She had 26 points for the first nine and came home with 24. Margaret Twibill also had a game to remember. The 30 handicapper holed in one at the par three 16th.
The third annual All-Ireland Inter Pub competition at Ballinasloe was won by one of the local hostelries, the Birchgrove. The winning team featured four members of the one family, the Creavens. Austin, Paddy and Sean, along with Sean's wife Jackie had a superb score of 111 points, two better than the Dog and Duck from Co Westmeath.
Two Irish internationals featured in an exciting finish to the Tralee Ladies Scratch Cup on Sunday. Eavan Higgins from Douglas finished on 147 for the 36 holes, two shots better than her international colleague Ada O'Sullivan (Monkstown). Higgins started well with a one-under-par 71 to O'Sullivan's five-over 77. But she found it tougher on the second 18 and could only manage a four-over 76, while O'Sullivan had a level-par 72.
Connemara GC will celebrate their 25th anniversary with a three-ball scramble on Friday. Dr Michael Casey, Eddie Hackett (course architect), John Marks and the Reverend Peter Waldron played the first game at the opening of the club in 1973. In 1980 Connemara hosted its first professional tournament, the Carrolls Irish Matchplay championship.
James Bruen, showed the style of his legendary grandfather, Jimmy, when winning the Monkstown Junior Scratch Cup on Sunday. Bruen, a five handicapper from Douglas, shot 73 to win by one shot from John Murtagh (Tramore) and Andrew Fitzgerald (Monkstown) who both had 74s.
The Captain's Prize at Dooks Golf Club featured another family in form. Patrick McGillicuddy, playing off a handicap of nine, won the main prize with a score of 96 1/2. One brother, Denis, off 17, was fourth, three shots behind, while another brother, Michael, won the gross prize with 106.
