The Short Game: Niall Turner, from Muskerry, has qualified for the US Amateur Championship for the second successive year. Turner qualified at Windsong Farm GC in Minneapolis with rounds of 68 and 75 for joint first place on 143.
The US Amateur is being held this year in the Olympic Club in San Francisco from August 20th-26th.
To play in the US Amateur, Turner had to pass up a place in the European Championship in Berlin and the Interprovincial Championships at Co Louth next week.
"I put so much effort into qualifying for the US that I decided to go to it," said Turner. "But I hope to represent Ireland with pride and honour in San Francisco and hope to be back in Ireland if picked for the Home Internationals."
Turner's score at Windsong was matched by Timothy Beranek, John-Tyler Griffin, Joe Schoolmeesters and Tyler Obermueller.
O'Hare trio honoured
Three brothers, Paddy, Peter and Jimmy O'Hare, will be remembered at Greenore GC next weekend when the inaugural O'Hare Memorial Perpetual Cup takes place in honour of Greenore's most famous golfing family.
Paddy O'Hare, or Pat O'Hara as he was known in the US, was the professional at Richmond GC in New York and the first Irish professional to win a regular US Tour event when taking the North and South Open at Pinehurst in 1922 from a field that included Walter Hagen, Tommy Armour and Gene Sarazen.
Hagen triumphed in 1923 and 1924, with Byron Nelson winning in 1939 and Ben Hogan in 1940. Tommy Bolt won the last staging of the tournament in 1951.
Peter was professional at Greenore from 1903 to 1907 before emigrating to the US, where he finished joint seventh in the US Open in 1924 at Oakland Hills.
Jimmy won the Irish PGA Championship in 1914 at Royal Co Down while professional at Skerries GC. The medal event in memory of the three brothers will be played over the testing Greenore links next Sunday.
Forrest Little impress
Forrest Little's junior programme of recent years paid off handsomely at Portmarnock GC on Saturday last when the north Dublin club won their first Barton Shield pennant. Their team of Eoin Arthurs, Adrian Grogan, Joe McCarthy and Conor O'Toole saw off Royal Dublin by seven holes in the quarter-final and, in a nerve-tingling semi-final, they edged past the Curragh at the 19th. In the final they accounted for an experienced Kilkenny team by three holes.
Meanwhile, the stage is set for the Leinster finals of the Irish Senior Cup at Enniscorthy on August 18th and 19th. Leinster champions The Island will be bidding for two-in-a-row when they take on Kilkenny. In the other quarter-finals, Edenderry play UCD, Royal Dublin face Ardee and Woodbrook play Portmarnock.
Butlers defend title
Some 92 teams will contest the annual World Invitational Father & Son Tournament at Waterville in Kerry next weekend. The event is over 54 holes of fourball betterball Stableford, and included in this year's field are defending champions Robert and Rudi Butler, and previous champions and three-time winners Dermot Desmond and his son Ross.
Also playing are world-renowned golf course designer Tom Fazio and his son Logan from the US, snooker player Denis Taylor and his son Brendan, JP McManus and his son Kieran, and the owner of Kiawah Island and Doonbeg Golf Club Buddy Darby and his son Charles.
The event is run by the Carr Group and there is a minimum two-year waiting list to gain entry.
Regional showdown
The cream of Irish ladies' talent from the East and North will do battle for the title of Regional champions when the first two of four Miele All-Ireland Interclub Fourball Championship deciders take place next Tuesday.
The two regional finals, taking place at Slieve Russell in Co Cavan, will see last year's regional runners-up The K Club attempt to go one step further by beating Dublin City, while Letterkenny take on a strongly fancied Co Armagh. The Eastern decider tees off at 9am followed by the Northern contest at 9.40am.
The winners of the regionals will proceed to the national semi-finals at Mount Juliet on Saturday, September 15th, with the All-Ireland final taking place the following day.
McGinley Trophy final
After almost 50 matches since the tournament began in May, the semi-finals and final of the Mercury Engineering-sponsored McGinley Trophy fourball matchplay competition will take place at Powerscourt GC on Sunday next. The semi-final line-up sees Slade Valley play Castlewarden in the first match followed by Powerscourt and Charlesland.
The format is fourball matchplay and participants are the winners of their club's fourball matchplay competition in the preceding year.
Paul McGinley was delighted to be associated with the competition, especially as it is promoting a form of golf he really enjoys. the winners receive silver replicas of the McGinley Trophy - a magnificent antique silver salver presented by Donal O'Meara, past captain of Killiney GC. The beaten finalists and semi-finalists also receive prizes.
Cup time at Clontarf
The qualifying round for the AIB-sponsored Lord Mayor's Cup will take place at Clontarf GC on Sunday next. The brainchild of the then Lord Mayor of Dublin, the late Jack Belton, a former captain of Clontarf, the event has been competed for since 1951.
Players such as Philip Walton, Martin Sludds and David Kinsella, who won in 1964, have all participated in the event. The 1989 winner, Robbie Moore from Howth, went on to compete in the 1999 Canadian Open.
The qualifying round of 18 holes strokes, played off scratch, is for players with handicaps of five to nine (inclusive), with the top 64 qualifying for the matchplay starting on Monday. The entry fee is €25 and the time sheet is available at 01-8331892.
Dún Laoghaire move
The ladies of Dún Laoghaire GC said goodbye to their home on Tivoli Road in some style last Tuesday when they held their final invitation scramble before moving.
Marie Igoe (6), Kate Overend (4) from Carrickmines, Martina Lee (24) and Geri Piggott (13) from Old Conna teamed up for the final scramble and recorded nine birdies in their 16 holes to set a scramble record and win with some ease. They finished with a score of 49.3, with Deirdre Morrissey (36), Rosaleen Corbett (Woodbrook), Susan Reynolds (36) and Kay Moynihan (23) from Delgany second with a score of 53.1.
The Tivoli Road location has been Dún Laoghaire's home since 1910, but yesterday they moved into their new location in Ballyman Glen, which boasts a magnificent, 27 holes in a beautiful setting with spectacular views.The course has been designed by Hawtree Limited. They also have a superb new clubhouse.
Conefrey's late show
What is it they say about saving the best wine until last? Well, that's what happened at the recent Lady Captain's Prize in County Sligo Golf Club as the eventual winner came in the last grouping. Mary Conefrey spent the early part of the day in Westport caddying for the club team in the Junior Cup, but she returned in the afternoon to Rosses Point to compete in Maire Dufficy's Lady Captain's Prize and brought in the winning score. Playing off a handicap of 19, she shot a 69, one better than Shirley Sweeney (25), while Madge Smith (28) was next best on 71. The gross winner was Muiriosa Connolly (10). Rita Walsh took the Past Captains' Prize.
Tidings of great Joy
Winning in style and showing some of the men the way was Mary Joy in County Louth recently as she won the Kevin Garvey Memorial Trophy with ease. Playing off 35, Mary played some great golf to record 43 points and win by four from scratch golfer Nigel Beirth, with another lady member, Dorothy Collins (12), taking third spot also with 39 points. The gross winner was Michael O'Brien with 34 points.
Cahill in fine form
It has been a good week for Tina Cahill in Beaverstown, as she claimed two podium finishes. First she had to settle for second place in the singles competition last Sunday week when her score of 34 points was five shy of winner Joan Kelly (16). But last Tuesday the 28-handicapper recorded 36 points to win on a countback from Esther Hannon (21), with Mary Murray (12) third on 35 points.
