West of Ireland Amateur Open Championship

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1 Captain s Log Now that the Diageo Winter League is drawing to a conclusion the next few months will involve preparation for the upcoming Inter Club Team events. Participation in the various team panels is always a special and fun experience. It is an opportunity to play & practice with members within similar handicap categories whilst also availing of group and team coaching and the various fun challenges. We will feature the various team categories & Team Captains in the upcoming weeks & would welcome members support for these events. Aidan Doyle West of Ireland Amateur Open Championship Four bye s to West via Argentina. the truth is The West of Ireland Competition Committee have agreed that the four Irish International golfers selected to play in a golf tournament in Argentina will be given byes to the match play stage of the West of Ireland. The timing and logistics of competing in Argentina was such that they would have been unable to return in time to play in the qualifying rounds. This means that there will be a very strong field and that the qualifiers will be playing for only 60 places. The closing date for WOI entries is March 4th. WOI launch - Friday 6th March WOI Qualifier Wednesday 1st April 2015 Top 6 and ties to Qualify LAST Golf Quiz False if wind moves ball (even if it is marked) it should not be replaced WEEK Mystery Member Kevin Flanagan.- well done Roddy Gillen for identifying Kevin

2 Saturday 14 th February 2015 Singles Stableford, 16 holes White Tees. On Valentine s day there was no love lost out on the course as three players rose to the occasion and came in with a great score of 36. On the countback Dave Fleming was first with Declan Corcoran second and John Armstrong in 3 rd place, Fourth with a very creditable 35 was Dave O Hara. 1, Dave S Fleming (13) 36pts; 2, Declan Corcoran (18),36pts; 3, John Armstrong (19),36pts ; 4, Dave O ' Hara (18),35pts Entries 72, CSS N/A. Sunday 15th February 2015 Well the fog was lifted and the penultimate round of the Diageo Winter League took place. The winners of the day prizes were as follows: Championship - Denis O Sullivan (14) and Naoise Davitt (15) 3 up (F5) Bomore - David McGuinness (10) and Emmanual McCormack (16) 1up C mon Sligo we can go all the way; On Thursday evening 12th February Captain Aidan Doyle met with our 2015 Team Captains. Aidan thanked them all for taking on their roles and wished them well. He noted that this year captain s have all achieved either provincial or national honours. The Club also has a terrific pool of talented golfers with significant experience and we hope to do very well in the coming year. A number of administrative items were discussed but the major focus was on recruiting team panels and getting practice sessions underway. All members of our Club, if you are interested and wish to join team panels, in what promises to be a very exciting golf season, then please contact the respective Team Captain. Team Co Ordinator Jeff Hatt The draw for the 2015 Fred Daly Trophy sees The Co Sligo GC seeded into round 2 where we will play the winners of Castle Dargan or Athlone. The first round will be played in March with round 2 the weekend after Easter, April 11/12. The Connacht semi-final will be played the weekend of April 25 th and 26 th over 2 legs with the final to take place on July 3 rd. Our 2015 panel had their first get together this week with team captain Terry Brady and professional Jim Robinson. Players are anxious to get the new season started although a number of the boys have been involved in the winter league and winter alliances. Conor Wynne and Paddy Bird are still in with a shout in the winter league with other pairings finding the going a little tougher. David Brady and Cian Feeney will represent Connacht this week in a match against Ulster which will be played in Athlone. Tom Flanagan also represents Connacht at U14 level. David Brady Junior Captain

3 The Club AGM takes place on Sunday 15th March The R&A has confirmed that from 2017 the Open will be screened exclusively live on Sky bringing to an end BBC s long-standing relationship with the Open Championship to Past Lady Captain Catherine & Brendan Johnson on the recent arrival of their 5 th grandchild Levi Aidan Thought for the Week: Best of Luck to Sean Flanagan(Maynooth) and Declan Reidy(Sligo IT) taking part in the Irish Intervarsity Championship this week at the European Club (picture) Congratulation to Past Captain Dave and Past Lady Captain Kaye O Regan on the occasion of their Diamond Wedding Anniversary If at first you don t succeed then skydiving is definitely not for you. Cecil Ewing Non Playing CV Irish International Selector (12) 1949, 1959 to Walker Cup Selector (3) , 1954, Irish International Team Captain (10) 1960 to St Andrew s Trophy (Great Britain and Ireland vs Europe) Team Captain Captain County Sligo Golf Club (2) 1940, President Golfing Union of Ireland 1970 GOLF QUIZ Dáithí is attending the flagstick for his fellow competitor, Dento. His attention is diverted by some noise coming from an adjacent green and he does not notice that Dento has taken his putt. Dento's ball hits Dáithí's foot and comes to rest a few inches from the hole. Dáithí is penalised two strokes. True or False?

4 We would like to thank the following three Sponsors and encourage our members to support them. EJ Menswear is a 10,000 square feet menswear store located in the heart of Sligo town on Grattan Street. The store caters for all age groups with Boys Wear, Jeans Wear, Casual Wear, Suits and Formal Hire. EJ Menswear also have their very own Shoe and Footwear Department. The store has been kitting out the men of Sligo, the North - West and further afield for the past 20 years. If you are in the West, be sure to call to EJ Menswear and Formal Hire.Our new online store will be launched this coming Summer. The Glasshouse is Sligo s only 4 star city centre hotel, towering dramatically over the Garavogue River it offers the discerning traveller chic interiors, great city views and proximity to all downtown Sligo has to offer. Shaped like a ship in dock, the hotel s glass exterior can be seen from afar, inside the quirky interiors are equally as impressive. Features include: The best address in town, close to O Connell Street and all the main cafes, bars, galleries and shops in the city. AA Rosette winning food in The Kitchen Restaurant. Two lively bars the Café Bar and the View Bar. Underground car parking - please note there is a 3 euro per night charge for parking for residents. Fitness Room with state of the art gym equipment Ulster Bank is a large commercial bank, and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. The Ulster Bank Group is subdivided into two separate legal entities, Ulster Bank Limited (UBL registered in Northern Ireland) and Ulster Bank Ireland Limited (UBIL registered in the Republic of Ireland). The Group's headquarters (and UBIL's) is located in George's Quay, Dublin in the Republic of Ireland whilst the official headquarters of UBL is in Donegal Square East, Belfast,[1] in Northern Ireland, and it maintains a large sector of the financial services in both the UK and Ireland.

5 POS SECTION 1 TOTAL 1 NIALL STAFFORD & RUAIRI O'CONNOR 16 2 ANTON MURPHY & AIDAN DOYLE 15 3 FERGAL O'FLAHERTY & DONAL CRONIN 14 4 PADDY BIRD & CONOR WYNNE 12 5 EOIN GAUGHAN & ALAN GAYNOR 12 6 SIMON ROONEY & BEN ROONEY 12 7 LUKE ARMSTRONG & SAM DONAGHY 10 8 CIAN FEENEY & PETER O'HARA 8 9 TOM ARMSTRONG & TOM FLANAGAN 8 10 JOSEPH KEYES & TOM O'HARA 7 Well! Well! Well! On Valentine s weekend there was no love lost in the Section 1 shoot out. At the start of the day an amazing 9 pairs in the group still had aspirations of qualification. However after a day of intense Bomore battles some clarity has emerged with 3 pairs now qualified with 2 places still up for grabs.long time Section leaders Fergal O Flaherty & Donal Cronin could only manage a draw to lone gun Tom O Hara. While now qualified on 14 points their hopes of winning the section have receded. Niall Stafford & Ruairi O Connor just about won their match against Lonesome Dove Conor Wynne who put them under fearsome pressure in a very tight match. They now lead the Section and are qualified with 16 points. Coming up with a late run on the rails to challenge for section honours on the last day is the AA pairing of Captain and Past Captain, now with 15 pts and qualified, who overcame lone gun Alan Gaynor who soldiered without injured Eoin Gaughan. With 3 qualification spots still on offer an intriguing last day next Sunday is in prospect. Alan Gaynor/Eoin Gaughan on 12 points muscle up against father & son combo Simon & Ben Rooney also on 12 points. A win guarantees a spot but a draw could damage somebody! Also on 12 points are Paddy Bird & Conor Wynne. However with Paddy still on the European ski slopes next Sunday Conor must battle on his own against Tom Flanagan and Tom Armstrong and with the frights that Tom Flanagan has handed out this winter in the section Conor has it all to do! Luke Armstrong and Sam Donaghy have 10 points after round 9 but a win and 13 points after the last day could see them grab the last spot! However they will be tested in a last day big battle against Cian Feeney and Peter O Hara. GUEST ANALYST Anton Murphy POS SECTION 2 TOTAL 1 DAVID CUNNINGHAM & TONY MULLEN 19 2 WALTER MURPHY & SEAN MOYLAN 18 3 KEVIN FLANAGAN & DEREK WYNNE 16 4 TONY HALLISSY & DAVE O'HARA 15 5 EAMONN McDONAGH & FERGAL BURKE 13 6 DERMOT McKENNA & OWEN MULLIGAN 12 7 DAVID EDWARDS & TONY LEONARD 7 8 IAN HODGSON & PAUL KEYES 6 9 TREVOR JOHNSON & JOHN McMANUS 6 10 JOHN ROBINSON & PAUL ROBINSON 6 Group 2 is nicely poised with 3 teams qualified and the group winner yet to be decided! Cunningham/Mullen are 1 point clear of Moylan/Murphy with Wynne/Flanagan 2 points further back! The tie to watch on the last day will be the Hallisey/O'Hara versus McDonagh/ Burke match. BT sports have won the rights! The ropes will be needed for crowd control and the stewards are being issued with cattle prods and pepper sprays! A draw will secure qualification for the former but may not be good enough for the latter. McKenna/Mulligan aka Blythe Spartans must win on the last day and they must be pleased to have a home tie against Johnson/McManus who are dangerous opponents having had a 6 up in an earlier round! Keyes/Hodgson are starting to come good but are to far back as are Edwards/Leonard and the Robinsons. However the Robinsons can upset the group leaders next week so watch out David and Tony!. GUEST ANALYST Kevin Flanagan

6 POS SECTION 3 TOTAL 1 JAMES BARNICLE & PAT CARR 22 2 KARL DOLAN & TERRY BRADY 18 3 FRANK DUNNE & TOM A FEELY 16 4 TONY CUNNINGHAM & JOHN FEENEY 13 5 GERRY McMANUS & DONAL BARRY 13 6 GERRY RAHILLY & FINTAN RYAN 13 7 JOHN McHUGH & PAT LYONS 10 8 JOHN DOLAN & JIM MULCAHY 6 9 KAROL BUTLER & GARY DEVINS 4 10 BRENDAN BROGAN & JACKIE McMAHON 0 POS SECTION 4 TOTAL 1 GEORGE CHADDA & DERMOT O'HARA 19 2 GREAME CLARK & JOHN O'CONNOR 16 3 PETER MAGUIRE & AIDAN LAWLEY 15 4 MICHAEL CULLEN & VINCENT NALLY 15 5 PAT FORKAN & MICHAEL McGOWAN 15 6 JOE KEYES & ANDY DONAGHY 10 7 IAN KEARNS & MICHAEL WHELAN 9 8 JOHN OWENS & PAUL HAMPSON 7 9 KIERAN O'BRIEN & GER QUINLIVAN 6 10 TONY WEHRLY & NIALL NUGENT 6 Well Done to James Barnicle and Pat Carr on winning Section 3 on Sunday. Also qualified are Karl Dolan and Terry Brady following a solid campaign. An exciting finish would appear inevitable as 5 teams battle it out for 3 qualifying positions. The score on the final day will likely decide the fate for one or more of these pairings The identity of the section winners is the only outstanding matter to be resolved on the final day for section 4 as the 5 pairings qualifying for the final are now determined. Chadda & O'Hara following victory against the unaccompanied Niall Nugent are clear favourites to top the group having a 3 point advantage going into the final day with a relatively facile fixture to come against Whelan & Kearns in round 9. O'Connor & Clarke were the only section 4 qualifiers to lose in Round 8 when going down against fellow qualifiers Cullen & Nally. John & Graham are the only other pairing who can take pole position in the section but they face a tough final fixture against Keyes & Donaghy. Maguire & Lawley recorded their fourth successive victory in beating Owens & Hampson in a match that went down to the wire. The formidable pairing of past Captains McGowan &Forkan confirmed their qualifying slot by defeating Donaghy & Keyes. GUEST ANALYST Joe Keyes Round 8 of the Winter League proved decisive in Section 4 last Sunday as the qualifying pairings were decided with another round still to play. It makes next Sundays matches a bit of an anti-climax with the only thing left to be decided now being the section winners. Big hitting Graeme Clarke and the mercurial John O'Connor missed out on top spot by losing to Michael Cullen and Vincent Nally while George Chadda/Dermot O'Hara went to the top on 19 points with a victory over Niall Nugent on his own. One point next Sunday will be enough for Chadda/O'Hara to win the section. On a testing day in a cold south westerly the other 3 places in the final were nailed down by Forkan/McGowan, Cullen/Nally and Maguire/Lawley. Pat Forkan was in top form as he closed out the hopes of Keyes/Donaghy with a superb 4 on the 17th. and finish 2 over par for the 8 holes. Cullen/Nally had a sluggish start to the campaign but came through with 3 wins on the trot culminating in a great win over Clarke/O'Connor. Maguire/Lawley went one better by winning 4 in a row to shoot up the table and clinch their place in the final. It was a hard fought section in typical Winter League fashion with hard luck stories, near misses, partners missing, great golf(and some awful stuff!), but enjoyable in good weather for winter. Good luck to all in the finals and lets hope for some great golf and worthy winners in good conditions. GUEST ANALYST Michael McGowan

7 POS SECTION 5 TOTAL 1 JOE CASEY & SHANE FLAHERTY 18 2 JOHN CLIFFORD & MARTIN McDONNELL 15 3 FRANCES HARAN & PAT DOLAN 14 4 EOIN ARMSTRONG & BRENDAN FEENEY 13 5 DAVID McGUINNESS & EMMANUEL McCORMACK12 6 DES HENRY & DANNY QUINLAN 12 7 JOHN ARMSTRONG & PAT DEVANEY 10 8 GARTH McMANUS & FERGAL LYNCH 10 9 CIARAN O'GARA & RONAN McCABE 9 10 BRIAN FEENEY & FELIX McELHONE 4 Another tight group for the title with Casey/Flaherty leading by 3 points going into the final round. If 12 points qualifies then all but one in the group can still qualify. If that isn t Winter League at its best for drama and excitement to the end..then what is.. POS SECTION 6 TOTAL 1 RODDY GAYNOR & SEAN GILLEN 19 2 KIERAN McDONAGH & JOHN GILMARTIN 16 3 JOE NOONAN & JOHN KEANE 15 4 PAT McDANIEL & KARL DEMMELL 14 5 MARK ROONEY & NEIL GAYNOR 12 6 FRANK MOYLAN & ERIC GILROY 11 7 DAVE DENT & DECLAN REIDY 11 8 NAOISE DAVITT & DENIS O'SULLIVAN 9 9 SEAN O'HARA & PAUL CANNING 6 10 ANDY KILFEATHER & FINTAN DUNNE 3 The penultimate round of fixtures for Section 6 saw the group have a very early start. There were a few sore heads after Valentine celebrations. After the dust had settled, 3 teams had qualified for the final with 4 in contention for 2 spots and only 3 out of the reckoning. The leaders Roddy Gaynor/Sean Gilmartin had a big scare against Seamus O Hara/Paul Canning and had to come from behind with 2 holes to go to win on the last.they will now face John Gilmartin/Kieran Mc Donagh next Sunday to decide the section winners. The latter were involved in a great battle with Declan Reidy/Dave Dent where a winning par on the last by Dave meant a share of the spoils. John Kane/Joe Noonan also won on the last hole against Karl Demmel/Pat Mc Daniel and have now qualified Denis O Sullivan/Naoise Davitt upset the form book with a great win against Mark Rooney/Neil Gaynor. The Summerhill duo won the Day Prize with a fine score of 3up.The final match in the section was another close affair with Eric Gilroy/Frank Moylan wining the last two holes to win against Fintan Dunne/Andy Kilfeather, who prop up the Table. Andy was in great form after and said that it was a fantastic match. Despite their position, the two retired gentlemen have certainly enjoyed their first winter league. So next Sunday it is Rooney/Gaynor (5 th ) against Gilroy/Moylan (6 th ) and Demmel/Mc Daniel (4 th ) against Reidy/Dent (7 th ) to decide the final two spots of this very competitive section. GUEST ANALYST Neil Gaynor