Irish Golf News

PAT MURRAY. PICTURE BY PAT CASHMAN

Local favourite Pat Murray is on course for a fourth Munster Mid-Amateur title after he added a 69 to his opening 70 to take a three stroke lead into Saturday's final round.

Winner of a hat-trick of titles from 2008 to 2010, the Limerick secretary manager leads on five under par from Killeen Castle's Mark Collins with Bandon's David McCarthy, Dungarvan's Alan Thomas and Carlow's Pat Bevins four behind on 143,

Murray has made 11 birdies in two rounds — five and six respectively — to storm clear of a good field.

Munster Mid Amateur Open Championship 2015, Limerick Golf ClubSponsored by Maldron HotelShotgun Draw for Saturday 5th Sept at 9.30am

9.30 1st A Eddie McCormack Pat Bevins Alan Thomas
9.30 1st B David McCarthy Mark Collins Pat Murray
9.30 3rd A Eoghan O'Loughlin Tony Cleary Dermot Morris
9.30 3rd B Joe Lyons Jim Carvill Alan Condren
9.30 17th A David Hunt Michael Kemmy Michael Reddan
9.30 17th B Randal Cross Paul Burke Mark Coleman
9.30 5th A Alan Doherty Frank Flynn Ger Vaughan
9.30 5th B Nicholas O'Riordan Fergus Harrold Adrian Lonergan
9.30 7th Billy Donolon Conn O'Driscoll Cathal Walsh
9.30 8th Dermot O'Donoghue Peter Hennessey Bryan Dore
9.30 10th A Tony Mc Clements Kevin Condren Colm McIlroy
9.30 10th B Lewy Halpin Eamon Haugh David Kelleher
9.30 15th Peter Sheehan Paul Flynn Michael Barrett
9.30 4th Gerry Reeves Peter Meaney Damian Gleeson
9.30 9th Bob Loftus Gary Purtill Michael Murphy
9.30 11th Joe Crangle Ronan Maher 

After 36 holes

Detailed scores

139 Pat Murray (Limerick Golf Club) 70 69 

142 Mark Collins (Killeen Castle) 72 70 

143 David Mc Carthy (Bandon Golf Club) 72 71 , Alan Thomas (Dungarvan Golf Club) 72 71 , Pat Bevins (Carlow Golf Club) 69 74 

144 Eddie McCormack (Galway Bay Golf Club) 71 73 

145 Alan Condren (Greystones Golf Club) 72 73 , Jim Carvill (Banbridge Golf Club) 70 75 

147 Joe Lyons (Galway Golf Club) 72 75 

148 Dermot Morris (Limerick Golf Club) 73 75 

149 Tony Cleary (Woodstock Golf Club) 73 76 

150 Eoghan O' Loughlin (Spanish Point Golf Club) 74 76 , Michael Reddan (Limerick Golf Club) 72 78 

151 Michael Kemmy (Limerick Golf Club) 78 73 , David Hunt (Nenagh Golf Club) 76 75 

152 Mark Coleman (Limerick Golf Club) 78 74 , Paul Burke (Mullingar Golf Club) 76 76 , Randal Cross (Enniscrone Golf Club) 76 76 

153 Colm McIlroy (Holywood Golf Club) 77 76 , Kevin Condren (Greystones Golf Club) 74 79 , Tony McClements (Holywood Golf Club) 73 80 

154 David Kelleher (Portmarnock) 81 73 , Eamonn Haugh (Castletroy Golf Club) 80 74 , Gerard Vaughan (Limerick Golf Club) 79 75 , Lewy Halpin (Shannon) 79 75 , Michael Barrett (Slievenamon Golf Club) 78 76 , Paul Flynn (Tramore Golf Club) 77 77 , Frank Flynn (Laytown & Bettystown) 77 77 , Alan Doherty (Corrstown Golf Club) 76 78 , Peter Kane (Ashbourne) 76 78 

155 Gerard Ahern (Youghal Golf Club) 80 75 , Cathal Walsh (Limerick Golf Club) 80 75 , Peter Sheehan (Ballybunion Golf Club) 78 77 , Conn O'Driscll (Cahir Park Golf Club) 77 78 , Billy Donlon (Birr Golf Club) 77 78 , Bryan Dore (Newcastle West Golf Club) 76 79 , Peter Hennessy (Lahinch Golf Club) 76 79 

156 Dermot O'Donoghue (East Clare Golf Club) 75 81 

157 Diarmuid Linehan (Muskerry Golf Club) 83 74 , Damian Gleeson (Limerick Golf Club) 83 74 , Peter Meaney (Cahir Park Golf Club) 80 77 , Bob Loftus (Lahinch Golf Club) 76 81 , Gerry Reeves (Limerick Golf Club) 76 81 , Gary Purtill (Dromoland Golf Club) 75 82 

158 Michael M Murphy (Castletroy Golf Club) 84 74 , Adrian Lonergan (Cahir Park Golf Club) 80 78 , Fergus Harrold (Castletroy Golf Club) 79 79 , Nicholas O'Riordan (Cobh) 79 79 , Joe Crangle (Cliftonville Golf Club) 78 80 , Ronan Maher (Mullingar Golf Club) 75 83 

160 Mike Whelan (East Clare Golf Club) 80 80 , Damien Coyne (Tuam Golf Club) 78 82 , Thomas Hogan (Headfort Golf Club) 77 83 

161 Peter Rogers (Dundalk Golf Club) 80 81 

162 Joe O'Keeffe (Muskerry Golf Club) 81 81 , Rory Timlin (Galway Golf Club) 78 84 

163 Donncadh Nagle (Kilrush Golf Club) 80 83 , Conor Williams (Adare Manor Golf Club) 76 87 

164 Nicky Duggan (Dromoland Golf Club) 85 79 , Robert O' Donoghue (Castletroy Golf Club) 83 81 

165 Steven Murray (Tipperary Golf Club) 82 83 , David Donnelly (Ashbourne) 81 84 , Joe Hammond (Craddockstown Golf Club) 77 88 

166 Daniel Mc Grath (Tuam Golf Club) 86 80 , Declan O'Carroll (Castlegregory Golf Club) 82 84 , Paul Reilly (Co. Louth Golf Club) 81 85 , Darran Walsh (Limerick Golf Club) 81 85 

169 Aidan Mulcahy (Woodstock Golf Club) 83 86 

175 John O'Neill (Rathbane Golf Club) 94 81 

176 William O Brien (East Clare Golf Club) 86 90 

178 Mark Barry (Limerick Golf Club) 87 91 

NR Denis O'Brien (Limerick Golf Club) 87 NR

WD Robert J Cotter (East Cork Golf Club) 94 WD 

Arthur Pierse at the top

Ireland Senior men are on track for their third European Senior Men's Team Championship in a row in Bulgaria but the Ladies suffered semi-final agony at The National Golf Resort in Lithuania.

rance stood in Ireland's way at both venues but they were no match for the men, who are looking for their fifth win in a decade following a comfortable 4.5-0.5 win at Pravets Golf Club in Bulgaria, the ladies had to accept a brave defeat.

European Senior Men's results | European Senior Ladies results

The Senior Men now face Italy, the team they left 24 strokes behind in strokeplay qualifying, in Saturday's final.

Tom Cleary and John Mitchell won the foursomes by just one hole over Pierre Kusel and Michel Rouault but there was no stopping the Irish in the singles with wins for Arthur Pierse, Adrian Morrow and Garth McGimpsey and a halved match for Maurice Kelly.

Italy beat Scotland 3-2 to reach the final but after finishing so far behind in strokeplay qualifying, it would be a major surprise if they can stop the men in green, even if it is matchplay.

In the European Senior Ladies' Team Championships in Lithuania, there was disappointment for the Irish as they fell 3.5-1.5 to France in their last four.

While Sheena McElroy and Mary MacLaren halved the foursomes, only Carol Wickham could win a point in the singles and France go on now to face England, who were 4-1 winners over Germany, in Saturday's final.

Ireland will play Germany for third spot. 

Simon Thornton

Team Ireland's SImon Thornton fired a three under par 67 to lead after the opening day of the Cairndhu Pro-Am.

The Team Ireland professional leads Noel Murray (Massereene GC) by a shot with James Quinlivan (Mullingar GC) a shot further back heading into Saturday's final round.

Pre-event favourite Damien Mooney (Ballyliffin), who is chasing a hat-trick of titles at the Co Antrim venue is six shots back after carding an opening 73.

Thornton has two wins to his name already this season on the Irish region circuit and made a flying start to proceedings at Cairndhu. Starting on the back nine he birdied the 12th, 14th, 16th and 18th to reach the turn in four under 32.

Dropped shots at the first and second halted his momentum but he responded with a birdie at the third. Another dropped shot followed at the fifth but he closed his round out with a birdie at the ninth to take a narrow lead into day two.

Caindhu Pro-Am, Cairndhu (Par 70)

Leading Scores (Day One)

1 S Thornton (Team Ireland) 67

2 N Murray (Massereene GC) 68

3 J Quinlivan (Mullingar GC) 69

4 D Higgins (Waterville GC) lvl

5 S Quinlan 71

T6 G Wardow (Spa); D Beattie (Deer Park Hotel); C Moriarty (Drive Golf Performance) 72

T9 C Molloy (Blackwood GC); D Mooney (Ballyliffin); S Clinton (Letterkenny GC); E Brady (Clontarf GC); Barrie Trainor (Cairndhu GC) 73

Leading team scores (Day One)

1 J Quinlivan 90

2 C Carvill 87

3 S Thornton 86

Good things come to those who wait and so it proved for historic Dooks who capture the first All Ireland pennant in the club's 127 year history with a. 3.5 - 1.5 win over Malahide in the Final of the Irish Mixed Foursomes on home turf.

Irish Mixed FoursomesAll-Ireland Final, Dooks Golf ClubFriday 4th SeptemberMalahide 1.5 Dooks 3.5 (Malahide names first)

1. Alyn Hogan (1) & Vera Mahood (18) lost to Enda Curtayne (18) & Tracy Eakin (3) 1 hole
2. Ciaran Reale (4) & Patricia Ryan (16) halved with Denis McGillycuddy (5) & Jenny Pigott (19) 
3. John Hayes (5) & Cynthia Fowler (16) lost to Pat Griffin (7) & Joan Harmon (12) 3/1
4. Paul O’Connor (1) & Orla McMahon (19) beat Derek Kelly (13) & Mary Inglis (12) 5/4
5. Gavin O’Connor (1) & Rosemary Cassin (19) lost to Karl Falvey (4) & Eileen Breen (16) 1 hole

Magnificent Carlow

The days when the late Fr Ned was one of the great driving forces behind the Midlands Scratch Cup might be gone but Carlow Golf Club will turn back the clock this weekend with a return to 72-hole combat.

Former South of Ireland champion and career amateur John Greene spearheads the local challenge but he faces some serious competition from the like of Portmarnock's Geoff Lenehan, Naas duo Jonathan Yates and Conor O'Rourke, Galway's short game wizard Ronan Mullarney and Grange's Robbie "S.B" Pierse to name just a few of the top 75-man field.

That said, the man to beat must be Slieve Russell's Seamus Cullen, who is going for an incredible three in a row.

The championship course, created in 1922 and brilliantly redesigned by Tom Simpson in 1937, remains one of the great Irish tests. 

Click here for tee times.  

Jerry Scullion

Jerry Scullion wasn't going to let anything ruin his chances of claiming a spot in this year's LowFuelCard.ie Irish Championship – not even toothache.

The Kilkeel professional ignored the nagging pain in his jaw to top the leaderboard at the first of two qualifying events at Dundalk GC with a one over par 73.

“I had been annoyed by a sore tooth for a couple of weeks but it got so bad that I almost walked in after 13 holes,” said the 32-year-old.

“I was biting down on a tee while I was playing the 10th, 11th, and 12th but thankfully I stuck it out and got through.”

Jerry started his round brightly and reached three under after seven holes with birdies at the third, fifth and seventh. 

“Everything was working pretty well and I really should have had four or five birdies on the front nine alone,” added Jerry.

“I dropped a shot at the eighth and then missed another good birdie chance at the ninth. From around the turn though the pain from the tooth was awful and it was hard to concentrate.”

Given how he was feeling, it's no surprise that Jerry made a number of mistakes on the back nine, dropping shots at the 12th, 14th and 16th. 

After going to the turn in two under 34 he struggled home in three over 39 but his one over par total was more than good enough to secure his place in the Irish PGA Championship field on October 1. 

“I'm looking forward to it. I missed the event last year and I'm happy to get another chance to play around Dundalk GC, it's a venue I really enjoy,” added Jerry, who claimed his best finish in the event – tied 11th – back in 2012 at Mount Juliet.

“They've made a number of very good course changes at Dundalk, taking some trees out and reworking some of the bunkers. The way they have done it makes a number of the holes look more inviting but if anything they are a bit more dangerous. The course still has plenty of bite.”

The second qualifying event will be held at Dundalk GC on September 21st.

Qualifiers - Detailed scores
Jerry Scullion (Kilkeel GC); Richard Creamer (Arklow GC); Paul Masterson (Coollattin GC); Diarmaid Fraser (Killarney Golf & Fishing Club); Joe Murray (Hollystown GC); Michael Kelly (Dun Laoghaire GC); Richard Kilpatrick (Banbridge GC); Brian Doheny; David Walker (Foxrock GC); Ciaran Boggan (Co Meath GC); Mark Peat (Bray GC); William Noble (Co Cavan GC)

World No 1 Rory Mcilroy listens attentively during his press conference in Boston.

If you think Rory McIlroy is battling his own ego as well as Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and the other big names hot on his heels, think again.

As far as the world No 1 is concerned, the fact that he can't play the required number of events on the European Tour this season — something which required a special exemption from Chief Executive — has less to do with his ankle as such and everything to do with how "agitated" he now becomes when he has to play for more than three weeks in a row.

Forget that he dashed back to tour action for the US PGA after a lightning recovery from a total rupture of his left ATFL that has left him at risk of a career-threatening relapse, McIlroy is all about patience now, not holding on to his world No 1 ranking.

It's mental, not physical, he insisted on the eve of the Deutsche Bank Championship, where both Spieth and Day can finish the week as world No 1.

Asked if felt more "urgency" now to step up his game given that Spieth and Day have thrown down the gauntlet, McIlroy said: "No, not at all. I'm staying very patient.

"It hasn't been the summer I would have hoped for, obviously, coming back from an injury and not really being in the conversation in terms of trying to win the two majors in the summer, with limited playing opportunities.

"My first week back at the PGA a couple of weeks ago. I felt under the circumstances I did pretty well, to shoot 9-under par over four days. I didn't think that was going to be 11 shots back at the end of the week.

"No, there's no sense of urgency. I know that my game is in good shape. And if I can go out there and stay patient and just let things happen hopefully I can start to get in contention and have chances to win."

The European Tour is bending its rules over participation in the Race to Dubai Final Series by allowing McIlroy to tee it up even though he is not going to meet the 13-event minimum.

That decision was clearly made on the basis of the medical opinion of Dr Roger Hawkes, who said: “From the evidence presented to me... there is a risk of permanent instability of the ankle which could seriously affect both his golf swing - you need stability in the left ankle during the follow through – and for walking safely on uneven surfaces.

“Although he played again after a few weeks, he will need close attention for about a year. The suggestion of a reduced schedule and, wherever possible, avoiding back-to-back events is, in my opinion, sensible and important to allow adequate healing and reduce the chance of the complications mentioned which could clearly jeopardise his career.”

Two in a row? McIlroy doesn't want to play more than three in a row that because he gets "agitated" rather than sore in the ankles.

"Yeah, even in years that I haven't injured myself three is—three I feel is always my number, even though I've played four—I played four last year in the FedExCup and whatever. I think three is sort of my limit. I can play three.

"And obviously there's a physical element to it, but previously and going forward it's more a mental. Once you play three weeks in a row, I can feel myself just get a little bit agitated easier. So three weeks is my limit."

Clearly, McIlroy has targets to meet. Very precise targets. 

"I've got a good run of events coming up to put another couple of wins on the board before the end of the year," he said. "I feel like I'm playing well enough to do that.. .I had a goal this year to try to get my points average up to a certain level, and it wasn't about trying to stay No. 1 in the world. I knew if I played well this is the points that I can average week in and week out.

"I set myself that goal start of the year. I haven't quite got there. But I feel like with the tournaments I have left this year it's still quite attainable."

As for the new Big Three debate—McIlroy called it a "narrative" that was good for the media to "run with"—Spieth got the Holywood man's vote as the real world No 1 right now. Sort of.

"It's hard. If you went on the one year system in terms of the World Rankings, you've got to say Jordan. And then Jason, I would say. If you were to do it more on a short-term basis you'd have to say Jordan. They both have four wins, Jordan has won a couple of majors."

Day and Spieth, who were in the media centre before McIlroy, didn't pick themselves either.

"It's enjoyable," Spieth said of the Big Three narrative. "It was the Big One. And after the Masters, it was the Big Two. And Rickie won the PLAYERS, then it was the Big Three.

"The U.S. (Open) happened and it was the Big Two. And Jason won three out of four weeks, it's the Big Three. I just hope I stay in the "big" moment, whenever it changes next. I hope I'm the one staying in that space.

"And there's no doubt that, like I just said, Jason is the best golfer in the world right now, at the present moment, there's no doubt in my mind."

World No 3 Day didn't agree.

"Rory, is that right, in World Rankings, Rory right now. I can't say I'm the No. 1 player in the world right now, I just can't do it. There's two guys ahead of me that have played phenomenal golf over the last years. I've played good golf, but I really played fantastic golf currently, just in the last seven weeks. The rankings are the rankings, and I couldn't go and say, no, I'm the best player in the world right now."

Scott Jamieson. Picture: Getty

European Tour — Damien McGrane and Niall Tuner shot one under 70s to lead the Irish challenge in the M2M Russian Open in Moscow.

McGrane, battling to avoid his first trip to Q-School since 2003, drove the ball well bit had little luck on the greens to finish the day tied for 48th with Irish PGA champion Kearney, who is making just his second main tour appearance of the season.

Scotland's Scott Jamieson and Australia’s Daniel Gaunt moved into a share of the first round lead as they signed for a pair of six under par 65s at Skolkovo Golf Club - one shot clear of the chasing pack.

Level par 71s for Michael Hoey, Kevin Phelan and Peter Lawrie left them just inside the cut mark with Europro Tour regular Brian Casey from Headfort posting a 72 on his European Tour debut.

Casey was two under after nine but dropped three shots coming home to end the day tied for 71st.

65 D Gaunt (Aus) , S Jamieson  (Sco) , 
66 B Dredge (Wal) , L Slattery (Eng) , 
67 B Evans  (Eng) , P Pittayarat (Tha) , T Chuayprakong (Tha) , S Hutsby  (Eng) , T Murray (Eng) , C Lee (Sco) , D Horsey (Eng) , K Horne (RSA) , 
68 K Samooja (Fin) , M Lampert (Ger) , M Southgate  (Eng) , S Griffiths (Eng) , P Martin Benavides (Esp) , M Kieffer (Ger) , J Randhawa (Ind) , E Goya (Arg) , C Bouniol (Fra) , P Meesawat  (Tha) , E Espana (Fra) , A Summers (Aus) , J Roos (RSA) , D Drysdale (Sco) , R Gangjee (Ind) , M Nixon (Eng) ....

70 N Kearney (Irl), D McGrane (Irl)
71 M Hoey (Nir), P Lawrie (Irl), K Phelan (Irl) 
72 B Casey (Irl) 

Sad to see. https://t.co/iQ20xr2ARo

— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) September 3, 2015 Challenge Tour — Muskerry's Niall Turner leads the Irish challenge, four shots behind Scotland’s David Law in the Cordon Golf Open in France.Law leads by two shots at the Golf Blue Green de Pléneuf Val André after a late start to round one meant he closed with one hole still to play.Play was delayed for three hours after six greens were vandalised overnight, a knock-on effect being that the afternoon starters were unable to complete their first rounds.Law managed 17 holes before darkness fell, making six birdies to top the leaderboard on six under par with Turner tied 10th after making five birdies in a two under 68.Chris Selfridge (69) is tied 22nd with Gareth Shaw (70) tied 30th and Michael McGeady one over after nine holes.

Challenge Tour —  Walton Media Group have been announced as the ‘Official Media Partners’ to the Irish Challenge hosted by Mount Wolseley Hotel Spa and Golf Resort, which takes place at the prestigious Carlow venue from October 8-11.

Walton Media Group’s leading Irish publications Golf Digest Ireland, Golfing Magazine and online weekly digital magazine Golfing Weekly will provide widespread coverage for the third-last event of the Challenge Tour season.

With a host of young up and coming Irish stars set to join a field which will include many of Europe and the world’s most talented young players, Walton Media Group will cover all bases in its hugely popular publications.

Walton Media Group, headed up by Managing Director Linton Walsh, has for the past six years produced the tournament programme for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation on The European Tour.

The Challenge Tour returns to the Republic of Ireland for the first time since 2009’s Challenge of Ireland, and the Irish Challenge will mark the first major professional tournament under the auspices of the European Tour to be hosted on the Christy O’Connor Jnr designed course at Mount Wolseley.

The Irish Challenge is supported by Tetrarch Capital and Tournament Partners, the Irish Sports Council and the Confederation of Golf in Ireland (CGI).

Alain De Soultrait, Director of the European Challenge Tour, said: “We cannot wait to return to the Republic of Ireland for the Irish Challenge hosted by Mount Wolseley Hotel Spa and Golf Resort and, with the help of Walton Media Group, we are sure it will capture the imagination of the famously knowledgeable golf fans there.

We look forward to working with Linton and his team and utilising their experience, local knowledge and enthusiasm to best promote what is sure to be a great event at Mount Wolseley.”

Linton Walsh, Managing Director, Walton Media Group is delighted to support the return of the European Challenge Tour and the Irish Challenge to Ireland and said:

“Walton Media Group is proud to be appointed the “Official Media Partner” of the Challenge Tour’s Irish Challenge. This is an exciting time for Irish golf with a host of Irish players delivering inspirational performances such as Paul Dunne, Jack Hume, Gary Hurley, Gavin Moynihan and Cormac Sharvin.

"The European Challenge Tour provides an important platform and significant opportunity for our young developing golfers on their journey to achieving their goals and aspirations to play on the European Challenge Tour and European Tour.

Walton Media Group fully support the development of Irish golf at all levels and we are delighted to demonstrate this through the support and commitment of our leading publications “Golf Digest Ireland”, “Golfing Magazine” and online weekly digital publication “Golfing Weekly” to the successful promotion of the tournament. We wish the European Challenge Tour and the wider European Tour Group every success with the forthcoming event.”

For further information please contact:

• Stacey Williams, MIAPR, MPRII
• Group Marketing & PR Director
• Walton Media Group
• T: + 353 (0)1 4199604 - Dublin Office
• T: + 353 (0)64 6639910 - Killarney Office
• M:+ 353 (0)87 8112640
• E: stacey@waltonmedia.com

Adrian Morrow takes a breather in the sunshine in Bulgaria. Picture: Bulgarian Golf Association

Ireland's senior men's and women's teams will face French opposition in Friday's semi-finals of their respective European Senior Team Championships.

The women, who qualified in sixth place at The National Golf Resort in Lithuania, beat Belgium 0.5 - 4.5 and will now face France, who saw off Sweden 3-2.

Sheena McElroy and Mary MacLaren won their foursomes 5 and 4 before singles wins for Gertie McMullen, Suzanne Corcoran and Carol Wickham and a halved match for Laura Webb secured their passage to the last four as they bid to repeat their win of 2013.

In the European Senior Men's Team Championship at Pravets Golf Club in Bulgaria, Ireland are going for their third win in a row and fifth in 10 editions since the event was first played in 2006.

They beat Switzerland 3.5 - 1.5 in the quarter-finals having won the strokeplay qualifying by a whopping 24 strokes from Italy.

Tom Cleary and John Mitchell won the foursomes 4 and 3 and while there was a rare 3 and 2 defeat for Arthur Pierse in the opening singles, it was cancelled out by wins for Maurice Kelly and Adrian Morrow and a halved match for Garth McGimpsey.

Mary Inglis, pictured after holing the winning putt for Dooks in last year's Munster Junior Cup Final, will be in action for the Kerry club in Friday's Irish Mixed Foursomes All Ireland Final. . Picture by Pat Cashman

Hosts Dooks will face Malahide for the Irish Mixed Foursomes title in Friday's All Ireland final. The Co Kerry club beat Castlerea 3½ - 1½ with Malahide seeing off Ballyclare 3-2 with victories for Paul O’Connor and Orla McMahon and Gavin O’Connor and Rosemary Cassin in the last two matches.

Irish Mixed Foursomes, Dooks GCAll-Ireland Semi-Finals, Thursday 3rd SeptemberMalahide 3 Ballyclare 2 (Malahide names first)

1. Alyn Hogan (1) & Vera Mahood (18) beat David Brady (8) & Claire Rawson (16) 2 & 1
2. Ciaran O’Rourke (3) & Cynthia Fowler (16) lost to Simon McConnell (0) & Anne Anderson (22) 6 & 5 
3. Lar Craddock (5) & Ciara Smith (14) lost to Neale McClintock (1) & Hazel McCrea (23) 5 & 4 
4. Paul O’Connor (1) & Orla McMahon (19) beat Connor Beggs (6) & Cheryl Donaldson (15) 4 & 3
5. Gavin O’Connor (1) & Rosemary Cassin (19) beat Colin Jenkins (2) & Laura Boyd (18) 3 & 2

Dooks 3½ Castlerea 1½ (Dooks names first) 

1. Enda Curtayne (18) & Tracy Eakin (3) beat Daryl Kelly (7) & Mamie Creaton (20) 4 & 3
2. Denis McGillycuddy (5) & Jenny Pigott (19) beat Liam Walsh (5) & Mary Gunning (17) 1 hole
3. Pat Griffin (7) & Joan Harmon (12) beat Kieran Kenny (8) & Mary Colleary (12) 6 & 4
4. Pat Riordan (11) & Maura Shanahan (13) lost to Dara Bruen (3) & Valerie Callaghan (20) 4 & 3
5. Karl Falvey (4) & Eileen Breen (16) halved with Jimmy Joyce (7) & Celia Mulligan (17) 

All-Ireland Final, Friday 4th SeptemberMalahide v Dooks (Malahide names first, 10am at 10-minute intervals)

1. Alyn Hogan (1) & Vera Mahood (18) v Enda Curtayne (18) & Tracy Eakin (3) - Dooks receive 1 shot
2. Ciaran Reale (4) & Patricia Ryan (16) v Denis McGillycuddy (5) & Jenny Pigott (19) - Dooks receive 2 shots
3. John Hayes (5) & Cynthia Fowler (16) v Pat Griffin (7) & Joan Harmon (12) - Malahide receive 1 shot
4. Paul O’Connor (1) & Orla McMahon (19) v Derek Kelly (13) & Mary Inglis (12) - Dooks receive 3 shots
5. Gavin O’Connor (1) & Rosemary Cassin (19) v Karl Falvey (4) & Eileen Breen (16) 

The venue for the 2016 Irish Open may not be officially confirmed for another month or so, a European Tour spokesman said, but while we wait to see if they come to an agreement with The K Club, the Co Kildare venue has announced it has completed a €20 million renovation and extension of its Five AA Red Star hotel.

Great round in the @thekclub today with @brenwaltz ! Course in savage condition ! Game feeling good ! #WalkerCup

Ireland’s five Walker Cup players were at Portmarnock Golf Club today on Wednesday ahead of the GB&I match with USA at Royal Lytham & St Anne’s next week. From left, Gavin Moynihan (The Island), Cormac Sharvin (Ardglass), Gary Hurley (West Waterford), Paul Dunne (Greystones) and Jack Hume (Naas). Picture: Golffile

Ireland's quintet of recently selected Walker Cup players gathered at Portmarnock on Wednesday for a friendly game where they were joined by GUI National Coach Neil Manchip, world No 22 Shane Lowry and Challenge Tour player Ruaidhri McGee ahead of next week's matches at Royal Lytham and St Annes.

Meanwhile, Irish Youths champion Alex Gleeson jumped 151 places to 230th in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings. 

Irish rank. World This week/Last week. Change. Name. Divisor. Points Avg.

1. 17/20 +3 Cormac Sharvin 49 1157.14
2. 25/25 - Paul Dunne 62 1108.06
3. 28/28 - Gavin Moynihan 49 1103.06
4. 32/29 -3 Gary Hurley 56 1086.61
5. 40/43 +3 Jack Hume 51 1063.11
6. 164/166 +2 Dermot McElroy 47 917.38
7. 193/194 +1 Stuart Grehan 40 895.83
8. 230/381 +151 Alex Gleeson 43 883.91
9. 347/344 -3 Paul McBride 44 831.53
10. 429/430 +1 Robin Dawson 49 806.84
11. 436/439 +3 Colin Fairweather 24 804.46
12. 481/538 +57 Colm Campbell 42 793.45
13. 483/488 +5 Kevin Leblanc 29 793.10
14. 523/491 -32 John-Ross Galbraith 43 784.30
15. 637/633 -4 Alexander Wilson 40 757.50
16. 638/634 -4 Geoff Lenehan 27 757.14
17. 673/621 -52 Jonathan Yates 41 749.19
18. 738/748 +10 Conor O'Rourke 35 734.29
19. 855/865 +10 Gareth Lappin 46 706.52
20. 905/916 +11 Tiarnan McLarnon 32 696.88
21. 930/887 -43 Sean Flanagan 39 691.67
22. 1059/1072 +13 Eanna Griffin 32 662.50
23. 1088/960 -128 Alan Lowry 28 657.14
24. 1119/1162 +43 Ronan Mullarney 40 652.50
25. 1134/1142 +8 Caolan Rafferty 23 650.00

O'Briain wins Peter Gregory Memorial Pro-AmNeil O'Briain fired a three under par round of 68 to win the Peter Gregory Memoral Pro-Am at Clandeboye GC.The Old Conna GC professional finished three shots ahead of Damien Mooney (Ballyliffin), Simon Thornton (Team Ireland), Neil Graham (Portstewart GC) and Ciaran Molloy (Blackwood GC).The tournament was held to celebrate the life and service of the late Peter Gregory, the long-time professional at the Co Down venue who passed away in April after a short illness.The 28-year-old O'Briain made a sluggish start to his round, going to turn in one over par 36 courtesy of a single dropped shot at the par four third.A birdie at the par five 12th got him back to level par and he finished the round in style collecting birdies at the 15th, 16th and 18th to come home in four under 32.Knock's Ricky Whitford grabbed the team prize, finishing with 88 points, two points ahead of nearest rival Ciaran Molloy (Blackwood GC)Peter Gregory Memorial Pro-Am, Clandeboye GC (Par 71)Detailed scores

• 1 N O'Briain (Old Conna GC) 68
• T2 D Mooney (Ballyliffin); S Thornton (Team Ireland); N Graham (Portstewart GC);  C Molloy (Blackwood GC) 71
• T6 P Martin (Colin Park Golf Academy); D Foley (Dromoland Castle GC) 73
• 8 C Moriarty (Open Fairways Ltd) 74
• T9 D Wright (Royal County Down); P Collins (Galgorm Castle GC); N Murray (Massereene GC); W Ramsey (Knockbracken Golf Academy) 75

Team Scores1 R Whitford (Fortwilliam) 88
2 C Molloy (Blackwood GC) 86

Practice underway here @dooksgolfclub for the all ire mixed finals ! pic.twitter.com/8ifhGOpDv4

— Dooks Golf Club (@dooksgolfclub) September 2, 2015 Irish Mixed FoursomesAll-Ireland Semi-Finals, Dooks Golf Club, ThursdayMalahide v Ballyclare (10.30am at 10-minute intervals, Malahide names first)

1. Alyn Hogan (1) & Vera Mahood (18) v David Brady (8) & Claire Rawson (16)
2. Ciaran O’Rourke (3) & Cynthia Fowler (16) v Simon McConnell (0) & Anne Anderson (22)
3. Lar Craddock (5) & Ciara Smith (14) v Neale McClintock (1) & Hazel McCrea (23)
4. Paul O’Connor (1) & Orla McMahon (19) v Connor Beggs (6) & Cheryl Donaldson (15)
5. Gavin O’Connor (1) & Rosemary Cassin (19) v Colin Jenkins (2) & Laura Boyd (18)

Dooks v Castlerea (11.20am at 10-minute intervals, Dooks names first)

1. Enda Curtayne (18) & Tracy Eakin (3) v Daryl Kelly (7) & Mamie Creaton (20)
2. Denis McGillycuddy (5) & Jenny Pigott (19) v Liam Walsh (5) & Mary Gunning (17)
3. Pat Griffin (7) & Joan Harmon (12) v Kieran Kenny (8) & Mary Colleary (12)
4. Pat Riordan (11) & Maura Shanahan (13) v Dara Bruen (3) & Valerie Callaghan (20)
5. Karl Falvey (4) & Eileen Breen (16) v Jimmy Joyce (7) & Celia Mulligan (17)

Rory McIlroy uploaded his picture of his ankle to Instagram three weeks ago

Rory McIlroy's assertion that he would only come back to tournament play when he was "100% healthy and 100% competitive" was clearly remature. Given that the European Tour's new Chief Executive Keith Pelley is allowing him compete for the Race to Dubai's grand prize despite it becoming clear in recent weeks that he will fail to meet the 13 event minimum, he is plainly far from 100 percent healthy.

The tour has even gone as far as to seek medical advice before giving McIlroy a free pass and even that's remarkably candid about the damage the world No 1 could be doing himself by coming back so soon after tearing ankle ligaments in that July 4 kick about with friends.

The European Tour's Chief of Medical staff, Dr Roger Hawkes, said in a European Tour statement:

“From the evidence presented to me, in my view this is a potentially serious and significant injury. There is a risk of permanent instability of the ankle which could seriously affect both his golf swing - you need stability in the left ankle during the follow through – and for walking safely on uneven surfaces.“Although he played again after a few weeks, he will need close attention for about a year. The suggestion of a reduced schedule and, wherever possible, avoiding back-to-back events is, in my opinion, sensible and important to allow adequate healing and reduce the chance of the complications mentioned which could clearly jeopardise his career."

McIlroy has played just one event since he injured himself, the US PGA, where he finished 17th. He plan is to play the second FedEx Cup event in Boston this week but it remains to be seen if he can "give it a good run in the FedEx Cup", as he planned when he left Whistling Straits, and play back to back events, never mind all three remaining Playoff tournaments.

An order to avoid consecutive events could also have a huge effect on his 2016 schedule, when the calendar is compressed because of the Olympic Games

It appears he will play no more than three more European Tour events before the end of this year, including the season ending DP World Tour Championship.

After much consideration, I have decided not to play in the Open Championship at St. Andrews. I’m taking a long term view of this injury and, although rehab is progressing well, I want to come back to tournament play when I feel 100% healthy and 100% competitive. Thank you for all your support and best wishes. I hope to be back on the course as soon as I can.... In the mean time, come on Andy!!!

A photo posted by Rory McIlroy (@rorymcilroy) on Jul 8, 2015 at 8:38am PDT

But given that his excuse for failing to meet the minimum event requirements in Europe — he's four short of the 13 required — is the "recuperation and recovery programme which strictly limits the number of weeks in a row he can play," getting 100 percent fit in 40 days was clearly never an option for the world No 1. 

By deciding to skip The Barclays, it's possible he did more damage to his ankle at Whistling Straits, as Jason Day hinted on Sunday.

"With Rory missing this week, who knows what happened to his ankle, or if it was something where he really needed to rest it," Day said.

The tour issued a statement on Wednesday explaining that McIlroy, who is currently leading the 2015 Race to Dubai Rankings by almost 400,000 points from Danny Willett, "was poised to comfortably meet the ‘13 tournaments per season’ rule – stipulated under the membership criteria of The European Tour – until an accident ruled him out of a considerable part of the golfing summer."

The 26 year old missed starts in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, the Open Championship and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

The tour goes on to say that "will not be able to compete in 13 European Tour tournaments, given his current global commitments and his recuperation and recovery programme which strictly limits the number of weeks in a row he can play."

According to the European Tour, "McIlroy has agreed with Keith Pelley that he will play a minimum of three more tournaments before the end of the year, bringing him to his revised minimum obligation of 12 events."

Keith Pelley said: “These are exceptional circumstances and I have taken this situation and the resulting decision very seriously. I have spent the last two weeks examining every angle and every possible solution and I have spoken with Rory and his team, as well as independent medical advisers and some prominent players.

“After reviewing and discussing all the medical reports and recommendations from orthopaedic surgeon Dr Andrew Adair, physiotherapist Dr Steve McGregor and our Chief of Medical staff Dr Roger Hawkes – while at the same time recognising that Rory is a world golfer with global commitments – I am convinced that he could not commit to any further tournament participation without risking further injury and persistent weakness to the ankle in the future.

“Therefore, after lengthy discussions, I have given him approval to play a minimum of 12 European Tour events this year.”

Graeme McDowell is working hard to get back to the top.

It’s been the year from hell in many respects but Graeme McDowell is looking ahead  and having failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup he’s set his sights on the remainder of 2015 and the start of the 2016 Ryder Cup campaign in Europe this week.

Reunited with his old coach Clive Tucker to work in his fundamentals — he’s still with Pete Cowen — the Portrush man was on social media on Tuesday plugging his efforts to get back on track.

“My #RoadtotheRyderCup started today,” McDowell said in an Instagram post. ”Time to get this ship back on course. #grindtime” 

McDowell was key member of Paul McGinley’s European side and now has three wins from four Ryder Cup appearances having made his debut under Nick Faldo in 2008.

He’s been less successful in the ones he really wants to win, the majors, and having seen power players like Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson Jordan Spieth and Jason Day surge past him in recent years, he’s plainly got to improve his strengths to have any chance of competing.

His comeback singles win over Spieth in the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles is something he may draw confidence from and it will be interesting to see how he plays when he returns to action in Europe for the Porsche European Open at the Beckenbauer Golf Course, Bad Griesbach in a few weeks’ time.

Great day with @Graeme_McDowell. Basics lookin better, 5 hours, 90degrees and counting !! #journeytobetter pic.twitter.com/M1Sqzsc3HK

— Clive Tucker (@CliveGolfCoach) September 1, 2015

No doubt, he needs something positive to happen and fast having suffered a series of blows this year. His major record alone reads T52-MC-T49-MC

Ranked 60th in the world, his worst ranking since he claimed the 2008 Scottish Open to set his career on an almost constant upward curve, balancing life as a husband and father with the demands of tour golf has not been easy.

Driving and putting troubles have led to the perfect storm and a series of poor results leading to his failure to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs for the first time.

“There’s a pulse, there’s life,” he said at The Open. "You know, I'm in there somewhere. I’ve just got to keep battling.”

Having shown sigsn in the Bridgestone Invitational that he was returning to form, McDowell’s missed cut in the US PGA leaves him with a lot of work to do to be ready to challenge for a plaace on the Ryder Cup tea given that he is out of the world’s Top 50 right now.

With qualification beginning at the M2M Russian Open this week, McDowell knows that the first four players will come from the Ryder Cup European Points List, based on points gained in official European Tour events. 

The next five will come from the Ryder Cup World Points List, based on Official World Golf Ranking points gained globally. After those nine players are determined, Captain Darren Clarke will select three wild cards to round out his team. 

My #RoadtotheRyderCup started today. Time to get this ship back on course. #grindtime

A video posted by Graeme McDowell (@graeme_mcdowell) on Sep 1, 2015 at 10:53am PDT

Shane Lowry will be expected to challenge for one of those nine automatic places while it would appear to be the perfect time for a player like McDowell’s former Walker Cup foursomes partner Michel Hoey to step up a level.

The most recent of Hoey’s five European Tour wins came at the M2M Russian Open two years ago, and he returns to Moscow this week feeling like his game is in good shape to take on new venue, Skolkovo Golf Club, according to the European Tour:

The 36 year old romped to a four shot victory two years ago at Tseleevo Golf Club to add to his impressive tally of wins which also includes four Challenge Tour titles.It was his fifth triumph on the top tier in the space of four years but Hoey has since struggled to continue that incredible winning form, something which he is hoping to change this week at an event which invokes his freshest memories of victory. “It’s a good opportunity here for myself and some of the younger guys to come and try get a win because the field isn’t as strong as the likes of Wentworth or the bigger tournaments,” said the former Amateur Champion.“I used to play Challenge Tour at Moscow Country Club, which was always a fantastic course and when I won two years ago it was at Tseleevo – another great golf course. This is quality too, so the course is always when you come here.“I haven’t really been totally sharp this year. We had a baby at the end of last year so we have two kids now and that can be tough with the travelling.“I’m definitely disappointed not to have challenged as much this year but I’ve secured my job on The European Tour for next year so at least I have that. It’s been a tough year with the two young ones but it should get easier and I’m feeling great now so hopefully the end of the year can be good.

Don't worry @MikeHoeyNI, your name is still on there! Can he claim a 2nd #RussianOpen title? http://t.co/WkHH1zqYzD pic.twitter.com/7Gt8Imi2u4

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) September 2, 2015 “I’m hitting the ball well but I just need to hole a couple of putts. If I’d putted better last week I definitely would have been top five so I’m looking forward to the week now. I putted really well two years ago and it was a similar course so if I can do that this week then you never know.”Hoey certainly enjoys his time in Russia and, with this year’s spectacular new venue just inside the city limits of Moscow, he is looking forward to taking in some of the sights as well making the most of the pristine conditions on a Jack Nickaus Signature Design lay-out owned by Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich.“It’s very different over here,” said Hoey. “The Red Square and all the buildings here are quite spectacular, so I’m going to try and see a bit of the city, and we’re closer to the centre this year which is good. I always like going to different places like this.“Hopefully the game grows here thanks to events like this. I know not as many people play the game here as back home but hopefully that can change because the courses here are fantastic. I don’t think many people play this course and it’s in immaculate condition so we’re fortunate to be on it.“It’s just quality here. It’s quite wide off the tee and it’s a Nicklaus design so the greens are shaped side-on. The putting surfaces are phenomenal and it’s quite straight-forward but it’s very enjoyable.“Around the greens, Jack has a lot of bunkers where, if you bail out you could have a tough shot coming out of a downslope in a deep bunker. That’s his design and maybe the bunkers won’t come into play much off the tee but definitely around the greens.”

Hoey is joined in the field by Headfort’s Brian Casey, who plays on the Europro Tour, as well as Damien McGrane, Kevin Phelan, Peter Lawrie and Niall Kearney.

At 105th, Phelan is the best placed of the tour regulars in the Race to Dubai with Lawrie just €12,000 outside the all important Top 110 in 119th.

McGrane, despite his first top 10 in a year in last week’s Czech Masters, is 166th and still €92,000 outside the Top 110 who keep their cards with just eight regular season events remaining.

Meanwhile, The Island’s Gavin Moynihan looks set to make his professional debut in the 72° OPEN D’ITALIA presented by DAMIANI the week after the Walker Cup. 

The Dubliner, who will sign with Chubby Chandler’s ISM, has been handed a sponsor’s invitation and will be joined at Parco Reale di Monza by Darren Clarke, Pádraig Harrington, Paul McGinley and 44-year old McGrane

Sam Horsfield watches his second shot on the 14th hole during the first round of match play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015.  Picture courtesy USGA/John Mummert

The mystery surrounding Sam Horsfield’s decision to stand down from the GB&I Walker Cup team for “personal reasons” — “very personal reasons” according to his University of Florida college coach of a few days, JC Deacon — is not only bad news for GB&I, it also creates an unhelpful void.

Given the scant information provided, speculation is rife about what “really” forced a player who moved to Florida when he was five, to turn down the chance to play in one of golf's most iconic events

If he plays for the University of Florida's Gators in the opening college fixture of the season — the decidedly unglamorous sounding Carpet Capital Invitational hosted by Georgia Tech in Dalton, Georgia — over the Walker Cup weekend, it won’t help.

But it still doesn’t mean he hasn’t got “personal reasons” for stepping down.

Even GB&I skipper Nigel Edwards — the man who stuck his neck out for player many consider too Americanised and distanced from golf on this side of the pond — told Golfweek’s Alastair Tait that he didn’t press for details when told Horsfield had pulled out less than a week after getting picked.

Whether family related or not, no details have been forthcoming.

“As it says, Brian,” Edwards texted me shortly after the press release was sent out on Monday, “personal reasons.” 

His replacement, Ewen Ferguson, was unlucky not to make the original 10 on merit but still, not having one of the world’s Top 30 players cannot good news for GB&I.

As always, the British and Irish will need all the help they can get on a course that even they struggle to tame during the Lytham Trophy.

If Edwards' side wins at Royal Lytham and St Annes he will have won two of his three matches for the best record of any GB&I non-playing captain ever and the best since Peter McEvoy won back to back in 1999 and 2001.

And while there have been renewed calls to either pick the team off the world rankings or put some sort of Order of Merit with picks system in place for future teams, that would only thrown previous selections into an unfavourable light.
 
While the US selection system is always criticised for its lack of transparency and some dubious decisions by the USGA in the not so distant past, GB&I's committee system also comes in for constant flack.

Yet picking Horsfield, even he if didn’t set foot on European soil this year and had never played links golf or foursomes with any of his team mates, was still the right thing to do.

Could the R&A have handled  things better when it came to managing contact with the Orlando based son of an English glazier? Probably.

He didn’t play in the British Amateur or the St Andrews Links Trophy, as planned, because he qualified for the US Open at Chambers Bay.

But those who wondered why he didn’t turn up at Royal Lytham to meet Paul Dunne and the rest of the squad at get together the Tuesday after The Open probably aren’t aware that he wasn’t asked to attend until the week before.

“Sam was leaving for the Southern Amateur on Saturday and we got an email Wednesday afternoon asking if he could be a Lytham next Tuesday,” his father explained at the US Amateur. "The Wednesday before.

“The R&A said last year they would be in touch shortly at the end of January and we heard nothing until the Wednesday afternoon of Open week. We thought they were kind of ignoring Sam and weren’t sure what was happening. But Nigel came out and watched him play on both days.”

Edwards watched Horsfield’s two strokeplay qualifying rounds for the US Amateur, where he and Dunne were the only GB&I entrants to make the matchplay stages. As he said at the time, "good players are good players" no matter where they live.

 

Jason Day/PGATour.com

Padraig Harrington —cut on Friday but unsure of his destiny until last night—was eliminated from the FedEx Cup playoffs as Jason Day shot 61 to win The Barclays by six and put himself in position to win the $10m bonus and challenge Rory McIlroy for the world No 1 spot in Boston.

Dubliner Harrington, who was 87th in the standings heading to New Jersey, might have had enough with making the weekend to advance to second Playoff event for the Top 100 in the FedEx Cup standings, the Deutsche Bank Championship, which starts on Friday.

Instead, Harrington ended up 103rd in the standings, four points short of survival, as eight players came from outside the Top 100 to keep their hopes alive.

At the head of affairs, Australian Day continued his red-hot streak of form by making eight birdies in an immaculate 62 to win The Barclays by six shots from Henrik Stenson on 19 under par and move to No 1 in the FedEx Cup standings ahead of Jordan Spieth, who missed the cut.

It was Day's fourth win of the season and his third in four events following his RBC Canadian Open victory and breakthrough major win at the US PGA.

And he now has a chance to become world No 1 and take over from McIlroy, who relieves Spieth of top spot today despite skipping the first Playoff event.

McIlroy will begin the Playoffs in 15th place and both he, Spieth and Day are expected to tee it up in Boston in an event that will now have the added spice of the world No 1 race.

"I am just excited about the competition and I think it is going to be a lot of fun," said Day, who finished tied ninth in the US Open, tied fourth in the Open before winning the RBC Canadian Open and then followed a share of 12th in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational with back to back wins in the US PGA and The Barclays.

"I love being in contention. And I love playing against guys that are on fire. You kind of live for those moments. 

"But Jordan, he didn't play that great and you could see he was tired and he's had a tough run with all the commitments he's had off the golf course. And with Rory, missing this week.... who knows that happened to his ankle, maybe he just needed to rest it. So those guys are going to at least come in fresh for next week...

"I think I have the opportunity to get to No 1 if I play some good golf over the next three or four weeks. It's been a goal of mine but it's going to be tough to catch. Right now I am just going to focus on getting some rest and trying to play that golf course, which I absolutely love."

Thomas Pieters/Getty Images

European Tour — Damien McGrane secured his first European Tour Top-10 for more than a year as Thomas Pieters powered to victory in the D+D REAL Czech Masters.The Kells man closed with a 68 to share eighth on 10 under par at Albatross Golf Resort, picking up €20,600 to move to 166th in the money list but still a daunting €92,000 short of what he needs to keep his card through the Top 110 in the Race to Dubai.Michael Hoey (73) tied for 22nd on seven under to lie 77th in the money list while Kevin Phelan (73) is 105th after sharing 47th on three under.Title winner Pieters recovered from an early double bogey to win his maiden European Tour title by three shots on 20 under/The big-hitting Belgian started the final round in Prague with a one shot advantage over Pelle Edberg, who joined him at the top of the leaderboard with a birdie on the second hole after both players had picked up shots on the first.Pieters found himself one behind the Swede after a double bogey on the third hole but pulled clear with four birdies over his final ten holes, including holing a ten foot putt on the last, for a closing round of 69 and a 20 under par winning total.He become just the third Belgian to win on The European Tour, after Phillip Toussaint and Nicolas Colsaerts.Complete final round scores (par 72)

268 T Pieters(Bel) 66 68 65 69

271 P Edberg (Swe) 66 67 67 71

272 M Fitzpatrick(Eng) 66 67 71 68

274 R Dinwiddie(Eng) 69 67 68 70

277 R Kakko(Fin) 67 72 68 70, R Paratore (Ita) 65 73 70 69, T Olesen (Den) 67 69 67 74

278 E De La Riva(Esp) 65 76 69 68, K Broberg (Swe) 67 73 69 69, G Bourdy (Fra) 70 70 71 67, C Lee (Sco) 68 71 69 70, Damian McGrane (Irl) 69 70 71 68 (€ 20,600)

279 R Karlberg(Swe) 70 68 71 70, S Hutsby(Eng) 66 70 71 72, C Arendell (USA) 72 67 71 69, G Boyd(Eng) 69 72 69 69

280 M Lundberg (Swe) 72 71 64 73, J Makitalo(Fin) 71 70 68 71, P Uihlein(USA) 70 71 66 73, G Storm(Eng) 70 73 71 66, A Wall (Eng) 72 70 67 71

281 M Schneider (Ger) 72 67 71 71, E Pepperell (Eng) 69 68 71 73, J Lagergren (Swe) 69 73 69 70, Michael Hoey (Nir) 67 70 71 73 (€10,700), D Lipsky (USA) 71 69 68 73

--

285 Kevin Phelan (Irl) 70 71 71 73 (€4,600)

Richard Kilpatrick

Damian Mooney's rich vein of form continued when he and Banbridge's Richard Kilpatrick  fired course record rounds of six under par 66 to share first prize in the Beaverstown Pro-Am.

Mooney has now topped the leaderboard in three of his last four events – Killeen, Naas and now Beaverstown.

The Ballyliffin Golf Club pro played like a man in form on Sunday - making the most of some excellent scoring conditions to reach the turn in four under par 32 with birdies at the second, fifth, seventh and eighth.

He stalled a bit after the turn but further birdies at the 15th and 18th saw him home in two under 34.

Kilpatrick went through nine holes in three under 33 courtesy of two birdies, an eagle at the par five fifth and a dropped shot at the eighth.

Three more birdies followed on the back nine at the 11th, 13th and 15th as he came home in three under 33.

Six players shared third place, two shots behind the winners – Graeme Dunlea, Philip Walton, Brendan McGovern, N O'Briain, Jimmy Bolger and Colm Moriarty.

Moriarty walked away with the team prize, guiding his amateur partners to success with 97 points.

Beaverstown Pro-Am, Beaverstown GC (Par 72)

Detailed scores

• T1 D Mooney (Ballyliffin); R Kilpatrick (Banbridge GC) 66
• T3 G Dunlea (Monkstown GC); P Walton; B McGovern (Headfort GC); N O'Briain (Old Conna GC); J Bolger (Kilkenny GC); C Moriarty (Drive Golf Performance Ltd) 68
• T9 N Kearney (Royal Dublin GC); M McDermott (Pure Golf Leopardstown) 69

Team prize

• 1 C Moriarty 97
• 2 J Kelly 94
• T3 M McDermott; L Bowler 92

Thomas Pieters/Getty Images

PGA Tour — Pádraig Harrington is facing an early exit from the FedEx Cup playoffs after Saturday’s third round results had him projected to fall to 101st and miss out on the Top 100 who qualify for Boston by just four points.

The Dubliner, who turns 44 on Monday, missed the cut in The Barclays to leave his fate in the hands of others entering the final round at Plainfield Country Club on Sunday.

Harrington was 87th in the standings heading to New Jersey and projected to fall to 98th at the end of Friday’s play.

He was obiliged to wait out the weekend to learn his fate and ended Saturday down in 101st as Carlos Ortiz shot a brilliant 62 to move from outside the top 100 to a projected 63rd, Luke Donald (65) to 84th and Stewart Cink (67) to 87th.

All three can go backwards on Sunday, as can others in the Top 100, but others can also make a move from outside the Top 100, leaving Harrington facing another tough wait.

However, with Ortiz now tied seventh, Donald tied 20th and Cink tied 26th, things don’t look good for the Dubliner.

To see the finishes players likely need to continue in the play offs, click here

At the top of the leaderboard, US PGA winner Jason Day and Korea’s Sangmoon Bae shot seven under 63s to lead by a stroke on 11 under from Bubba Watson (67).

Texan Ryan Palmer, who lost his father in a car crash last week, is tied fourth with Open champion Zach Johnson (67) and Henrik Stenson (67) on nine under with Ortiz a shot further back on seven under.

European Tour — Michael Hoey and Damien McGrane lost ground as Thomas Pieters incurred a two shot penalty for playing the wrong ball but still took a one shot lead into the final round of the D+D REAL Czech Masters.Hoey and McGrane shot one under 71s but fell back to tied 10th and 24th on eight under and six under respectively as the big-hitting Belgian made a blistering start at Albatross Golf Resort with an eagle on the opening hole followed by a birdie on the second to hit the top of the leaderboard.Pieters then picked up three consecutive birdies from eighth hole. But his progress came to an abrupt halt in bizarre circumstances on the 11th hole when the 23 year old played his second shot from the rough using a ball he thought was his, only to discover his actual ball a matter of yards away.That mix-up cost Pieters the lead, but he fought back admirably with a birdie on the next hole and picked up two more shots, on the 14th and 16th holes, for an impressive seven under par round of 65.

At 17 under par he is one shot clear of Sweden’s Pelle Edberg, who posted five birdies in his opening 12 holes followed by six consecutive pars to finish off a round of 67.

Kevin Phelan also shot 71 but moved up two places to tied 34th on four under.“The 11th hurts a little bit because it is my mistake,” Pieters said. “It could have been a lower one but I’m still really happy with the way I played, and seven under is a good score on a Saturday."

County Louth's Thomas Mulligan halved his singles as Great Britain and Ireland overcame a two-point deficit to tie 12½ -12½ with the Continent of Europe and retain the Jacques Leglise Trophy at Royal Dornoch.

Peter McEvoy’s GB&I side held a narrow one-point lead at the start of the day but the outcome looked far from assured after the Continent of Europe turned the match on its head by winning the morning foursomes 3½ - ½ to open up a 9-7 lead going into the singles.

On a windy afternoon by the Dornoch Firth there was no telling how the matches would finish as the advantage swung one way then the other. The outcome was eventually decided by the final shot on the final green of the final match.

For most of the afternoon Scotland’s Sandy Scott trailed Norway’s Viktor Hovland in the anchor match. Buoyed by large local support, the Nairn golfer rallied from two down with four to play to get back to all-square playing the 18th.

A halved match would have been enough for GB&I to win the contest outright but Hovland had other ideas. He fired his 200-yard approach over the flag to 15 feet and two-putted for par, while Scott, the Scottish Boys Open Stroke Play Champion, missed the green right and was unable to get up and down for par and lost by one hole.

It meant the matches were tied for the first time since 1978 when the contest was played over one day instead of two. 

Miguel Franco de Sousa’s Continent of Europe side enjoyed a purple patch as three matches in the top order all trailed playing the 18th but all gained halved matches.

The run began with Iceland’s Gisli Sveinbergsson, who was two down with two to play before he halved with England’s Marco Penge in the top match, while Denmark’s John Axelsen won the 18th to halve with Ireland’s Thomas Mulligan.

In the fourth tie Germany’s Maximilian Schmitt was so far right with his approach to the 18th he found the adjacent first fairway but managed to get up and down for par to also earn a half point against England’s William Enefer.   

Ben Chamberlain (2&1), Calum Fyfe (3&2) and Tim Harry (6&4) all won their singles matches for GB&I, which fittingly left playing captain Bradley Moore to secure the all-important point to retain the trophy.  

This year’s Carris Trophy champion had a close match against Denmark’s Christoffer Bring but finished strongly and closed out the match 3&1 to allow the GB&I team celebrations to begin.

In the morning foursomes the Continent of Europe stormed out of the blocks and threatened a clean sweep but the Scottish pairing of Scott and Fyfe showed great tenacity to come from two down with six to play to eventually halve the bottom tie with Hovland and Reitan. There was greater clarity in the three matches ahead as Franco de Sousa’s side were convincing winners.

Penge and Mulligan lost 5&4 for the second time in the top match against Sweden’s Tim Widing and Sveinbergsson. Harry and his Welsh compatriot Chamberlain lost 6&4 to Italy’s Guido Migliozzi and Adrien Pendaries from France. 

The English pair of Moore and Enefer trailed throughout their match before losing 4&3 against Bring and Axelsen, who along with Hovland was undefeated for the week.

Peter McEvoy, Great Britain and Ireland Team Manager, said: “We’ve retained the trophy but we wanted to win, we should have won. We played the 18th five times today and we lost the 18th five times. I think we should have won the match comfortably.

“I thought the lads showed tremendous spirit and great golf all afternoon, apart from not quite finishing the job off on the 18th.

“I’m proud of the team, it was a great effort but I think we will still go away feeling the job wasn’t quite done. I know we retained the trophy but we wanted to win the match.” 

Miguel Franco de Sousa, the Continent of Europe Team Manager, said: “It was very tight, it could have gone either way and you have to congratulate the GB&I team, they played really good golf in the afternoon, a very good fight back.

“They should be very proud of themselves and I am very proud of my team. It’s a draw but we are not taking the trophy home.

“The 18th was a good hole for us, especially in the singles because we managed to get three halved matches when we were down in them all - that kept the momentum going and there was still hope of winning."      

For scoring from the matches please visit Championships.randa.org.

The 2016 Jacques Leglise Trophy will be played at Prince’s in England on 26 and 27 August.

Brian Casey

Headfort’s Brian Casey moved up four spots to 14th in the race for five Challenge Tour cards via the Europro Tour rankings on Saturday.

The former Mullingar Scratch Trophy winner closed with a one under 70 in the Clipper Logistics Players Championship at Moor Allerton Golf Club near Leeds, picking up £1,965 for a share of fourth behind England’s Mark Laskey.

The Co Meath man, who makes his European Tour debut in the M2M Russian Open on an invite next week, finished on three under par, three shots adrift of Laskey, who shot a 68 to win by two from Steve Uzzell.

The top five in the Europro Tour money list at the end of the season — the Race to Desert Springs— earn promotion to the Challenge Tour. 

Laskey is now seventh, just over £500 outside the top five with Alan Dunbar ninth, Casey 14th and Jonny Caldwell 31st.

Clipper Logistics Players Championship, Moor Allerton Golf Club - Blackmoor (Par 71)

Detailed leaderboard

• 1 Mark Laskey Brocket Hall Golf Club 72 70 66 68 276 £12,000
• 2 Steve Uzzell Hornsea Golf Club 70 68 67 278 £7,200
• 3 Marcus Armitage Howley Hall Golf Club 66 72 74 68 280 £3,600
• T4 Brian Casey Headfort Golf Club 73 64 74 70 281 £1,965
• T23 Alan Dunbar Team Ireland 73 69 71 74 287 £546
• T40 Tim Rice Limerick Golf Club 72 70 75 74 291 £411 
• MC Stephen Grant Mount Juliet 73 76 149 
• MC Richard Weldon Killeen Castle Golf Club 75 75 150 
• MC Richard Bridges Stackstown Golf Club 74 77 151 
• MC Simon Ward Belvoir Park 73 78 151
• WD Mark Murphy Unattached