(19) GOLF NEWS IN BRIEF.

The Ulster Girls' team easily won their 6th Inter-Provincial title in a row at Roscommon Golf Club. They beat Munster 6-2, demolished Connacht 8-0 and in the final beat Leinster 6.5 - 1.5 and they did all that without the Maguire twins.

Paule & Laura Grant, Kelsey Coey, Olivia Mahaffey and Hannah Henderson were unbeaten in all 3 matches. There were also fine performances from Megan Thompson, Jessica Carty and Victoria Craig to bring the trophy North once again.

Ulster 3 points, Leinster 2 points, Munster 1 point, Connacht 0 points.
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The team to represent Ireland in the World Amateur Team Championship ( Eisenhower Trophy ) in Argentina from 29 – 31 October 2010 is:

Paul Cutler ( Portstewart )
Alan Dunbar ( Rathmore )
Kevin Phelan ( University of North Florida )

Non-travelling reserve Dara Lernihan ( Castle )

Irish Team Captain Dr. Kevin Flanagan.
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Defending Champion, Danielle Mc Veigh finished down in 19th place at Tenby Golf Club in Pembrokeshire in the weather - reduced British Ladies' Stroke Play Championship.

The tournament was reduced to 54 holes because of thunder & lightning. Pamela Pretswell was the winner. Cork girl Gillian O leary was the best of the Irish finishing in 15th place.

The other 8 Irish failed to make it through the 36 hole cut. They included Maura Diamond( Portstewart ), Victoria Bradshaw ( Bangor ) and Lucy Simpson ( Massereene ).
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Former Walker Cup player and Captain Gareth Mc Gimpsey from Bangor was the easy winner of the Ulster Seniors' Open Championship at windswept Donegal Golf Club. He followed up with a hard earned 77 in the strong wind to go with his brilliant opening round of 71 for a 5 shot victory.

1st:G McGimpsey ( Bangor ) 71 77 148.

2nd:R Berry ( Rossmore ) 78 75 153.

3rd:M Eager ( Lucan ) 77 79, M Kelly ( Killeen ) 75 81 156.

5th:B Donlon ( Birr ) 74 85 159.

6th:M Coote ( Tralee ) 78 83, P Walshe ( Royal Dublin ) 77 84, B Mc Donnell ( K Club ) 77 84, L MacNamara ( Woodbrook ) 74 87, B McCarroll ( Ballyliffin ) 73 88 161.
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22 year old Danish amateur Andreas Harto upstaged all the Professionals when he won the Ecco Tour Championship in Hamburg on the Challenge Tour with an 8 under par total.

Ireland's Colm Moriarty finished in 25th place on level par despite taking an 81 in the 3rd round.
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Barry Lane won his first European Senior Tour title at the Scottish Senior Open at Fairmont, St Andrews, in only his fourth appearance as a senior.

A final round of 72 left 50 year old Lane the only person to finish under par in the difficult conditions. He had a 4 under par total of 212.

Des Smyth was the top Irishman in joint 6th position on 4 over par. Eamon Darcy and Denis O Sullivan were joint 10th on 5 over par. Jimmy Heggarty was 30th on 10 over par and Eddie Polland was 54th on 15 over par.
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37 year old Arjun Atwal became the first Indian born player to win a PGA Tour event and the first player to win, having come through the Monday qualifing, for 24 years.

Atwal, who practises with Tiger Woods at Isleworth on a regular basis, fired rounds of 61,67,65 and 67 for a 20 under par total of 260 to win the Wyndham Championship by one shot from David Toms.
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Oscar Floren from Sweden won the rain delayed Wales Open on the Challenge Tour with an 8 under par total 280 to win the €24,000 first prize.

Michael McGeady was in good shape at the halfway stage. He was on 2 under par with scores of 70 & 72 but unfortunately fell back to 30th after scoring 77 and 73 over the weekend. McGeady's 4 over par finish earned him €1,110.

Colm Moriarty, Johnny Caldwell and Gareth Shaw all failed to make the weekend.
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Bernhard Langer won his 5th PGA tournament this year when he won the Boeing Classic in Seattle. He closed with a 69 for an 18 under par total to beat Nick Price by 3 shots. Local favorite Fred Couples was 9 shots behind Langer in 3rd place.
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Michelle Wie won her second LPGA tournament at the Canadian Women's Open with a 12 under par score of 276. Wie was tied with South Korean Jiyai Shin playing the last round but pulled away with a closing 70 for a 3 shot victory. She also had a hole in one during the 1st round at the 181 yard 11th hole, with a 5 iron on her way to an opening round of 65. Wie followed up with 69,72 and her closing 70 gave Michelle a welcome victory, her first since last November.
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Left hander Canadian, Mike Weir, will be out of action for the rest of the season with an elbow injury. An MRI scan revealed a partially torn ligament which he hopes will recover with rest, instead of surgery.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Peter Uihlein celebrated his 21st birthday in style with victory in the US Amateur Championship. Uihlein beat World No1 amateur golfer David Chung by 4/2 in the 36 hole final around the Chambers Bay Golf Club in Washington. Uihlein can look forward to invites from the Masters, Open Championship, the US Open and the USPGA next year.
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Defending Champion, Connor Doran ( Banbridge )put up a great defence of his title when he finished 3rd in the 72 hole Mullingar Scratch Cup after rounds of 71,76,74 and 71 ( 292 ). Connor finished behind Kelan Mc Donagh ( Athlone ) ( 285 ) and Dara Lernihan ( Castle ) ( 287 ).
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The ILGU selectors have chosen a very strong team to represent them at the Espirito Santo Trophy ( World Cup ), in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from the 20th-23rd October.

15 year old, Leona Maguire ( Slieve Russell )and her twin sister Lisa will be joined by their fellow Curtis Cup team mate Danielle Mc Veigh ( Royal Co.Down ). With such a strong team the Captain, Claire Robinson ( Knock ) will be hoping to bring home the Espirito Trophy for the first time.
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The Irish boys' & girls' teams put up a good display at the Total International Junior Championship in Belguim. Ireland finished second to Spain only 2 shots behind.

Luke Lennox scored 69,70,80 and 71 for a 290( +2 ) total and Richard O Donnavan's 72,77,74,72 gave him a total of 295(+7).

In the girls' section, Italy were the winners by one shot from Denmark. Ireland were 8th with a closing 76 from Tara Gribben and a 79 from Lucy Simpson.
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Teenager Romain Wattel who is the World No4 amateur became the second amateur to win on the European Challenge Tour this season when he scored 67,69,68,67 for a 17 under par total in the ALLIANZ Europen de Strasbourg in his homeland.

This past month Danish amateur Andreas Harto won the ECCO Tour Championship on the Challenge Tour and James Robinson beat all the Professionals to win the VEKA UK Open at Slaley Hall on the Europro Tour.
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Vijay Singh gave himself another memory when he holed his second shot at the par 5, 2nd hole at the TPC Boston during the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Singh who has won the Deutsche Bank Championship twice, holed a 5 iron shot from 230 yards to record his first ever albatross throughout his long career.

Singh’s albatross( double eagle )was the fifth recorded on the PGA TOUR this year. Carl Petterson ( Bob Hope Classic ), Steve Wheatcroft ( St.Jude Classic ), Shaun Micheel ( US Open ) and Shiv Kapur ( Reno-Tahoe Open ) were the other four.
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The Irish Seniors' amateur team made it to the final of the European Senior Men's Championship at Fairhavan. Ireland led the qualifiers into the top flight by 10 shots from England. They beat Switzerland 5-0, and followed up with a 3.5-1.5 win over Scotland to reach the final against England.

Ireland had to settle for the silver medals after England beat them 4.5 - 0.5. It was a closer affair than the score would suggest. Most matches went to the final green with Gareth Mc Gimpsey the only one to rescue a half point.

Ireland were represented by Maurice Kelly, Tom Cleary, Michael Quirke, Arthur Pierce, Gareth Mc Gimpsey and Adrian Morrow.
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46 year old Laura Davies became the oldest winner on the Ladies European Tour when she won the Ladies' Golf Open in Austria for the 3rd time. She had previously won the same tournament in 2007 & 2008.

Davies who is only one month short of her 47th birthday won for the 75th time in her career with a closing round of 70 that gave her an 11 under par total of 205.

Ireland's Rebecca Coakley finished 6th on 6 under par ( 210 ), Martina Gillian was 28th on -1 ( 215 ). Hasel Kavanagh and Tara Delaney tied on +4 ( 220 ).
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A golfer in Irvine, California literally burned up his local golf course when he set off a fire, while hitting a shot from rough at Shady Canyon Golf Club.

While the unnamed golfer was making contact with the ball his club clipped a rock under the ball, which sparked a fire that burned through the rough and into vegetation and bushy ground which spread over 25 acres. It took 150 Orange County firefighters to bring the fire under control.

No charges were filed against the golfer, whose name was withheld.
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Dustin Johnson made the break-through he deserved when he won the BMW Champonship at Cog Hill golf & country club in Illinois, by a single shot from Paul Casey.

Johnson blew the US Open with a final round of 82 and then missed the play-off for the USPGA when he was penalised for grounding his club in a waste bunker on the 18th. The big hitter finally made the break-through with a birdie at the 17th to edge out Casey by 1 shot on 9 under par.

Rory McIlroy finished down in 37th on 3 over par after rounds of 76,74,68 and 69. McIlroy's poor start cost him a place in the season ending Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta. With only the top 30 to qualify, Rory finished in 36th place. He was in good company as the defending champion Tiger Woods finished well away in 42nd spot.
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Former European Tour player, Alvaro Velasco will be back on the main tour for 2011 when he won the Kazakhstan Open on the Challenge Tour. He won €64,000 to jump into No1 position on the order of merit, guaranteeing himself his place back on tour next year.

The only Irish in action was Johnny Caldwell. He failed to make the cut with rounds of 75,76 +7.
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50 year old Gary Wolstenholme has taken the European Seniors' Tour by storm, winning the Casa Serena Open in only his second outing as a Senior. In his first tournament a week after his 50th birthday he finished 3rd behind Des Smyth at Woburn in the Travis Perkins Masters. Wolstenholme returned scores of 66,67,66 for a 3 shot win on 13 under par from Gordon Brand Junior.

The Casa Serena win earned Wolstenholme, €90,000 and moves him to 13th on the order of merit with earnings of €109,181. He is guaranteed a full card for the 2011 season.
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Irish Boys' champion, Dermot McElroy finished 2nd in the Duke of York Young Champions' tournament at windswept Royal St.George. Gudmundar Krisjansson from Iceland hit rounds of 75,71,72 to win by 1 shot from McElroy, who scored 71,77,71.

Leona Maguire was 3rd after rounds of 73,75,74 and only 4 shots behind the winner. Paul Dunne was 10th and Lisa Maguire was 13th.
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Two weeks after becoming the oldest winner on the Ladies' European Tour with a win in Austria, Laura Davies won again to record her 76th win with victory in the Open de Espana Femenino on the Costa del Sol, despite a quadruple bogey at the 13th.
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23 year old John Parry, a Challenge tour graduate from last year, won the Vivendi Cup in France by 2 shots from Johan Edfors to secure his card for next year. Parry was a team mate of Rory McIlroy and Jonathan Caldwell in the Walker Cup at Royal County Down in 2007. He finished on 17 under par.

Padraig Harrington returned the low score of the day with a 64 to finish in joint 8th place on -13.
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Jim Furyk bought a second hand YES putter for $39 in a golf store at the Deutsche Bank Championship and it helped him to win a $10 Million bonus as winner of the season long FedEx Cup.

He also won $1.35 Million for winning the Tour Championship when he made a brilliant up and down from a wet bunker to finish on -8 and pip Luke Donald by 1 shot.

Rory McIlroy, who just missed out on a place in the top 30, still pocketed $140,000 and Padraig Harrington took home $80,000 out of a total FedEx purse of $65 Million.