6 June 2023
~2 minutes read
GOLF: Sam Murphy Denied In East of Ireland Play-Off
Portumna’s Sam Murphy was denied following a play-off on Sunday (4th June) as Alex Maguire won the East of Ireland at Baltray.
It was back-to-back victories for the Laytown/Bettystown golfer at the county Louth cub and his victory over Murphy and Dundalk’s Caolan Rafferty put him top of the Bridgestone Order of Merit.
Murphy sits in 26th place in the rankings, with Athenry’s David Kitt as high as seventh.
Maguire, who was also crowned Bridgestone Player of the Month for May, jumped five places thanks to that win, where he sits ahead of former leader David Shiel (Enniscrone). Rafferty has gone to third while Shane McDermott (Slieve Russell) is another big mover, up nine places to fourth, after he also went close in the heat of Baltray.
Jack McDonnell (Forrest Little) moved up to T5 with Richard Knightly (Royal Dublin) rounding out the top five.
In the women’s section Clodagh Coughlan (Douglas) jumped ahead of Aideen Walsh (Lahinch) and Beth Coulter (Kirkistown Castle) following her performance at Loughrea in the Connacht Senior Women’s on Saturday.
However, Emma Fleming (Elm Park) continues in the ascendency thanks to her early Scratch Cup successes, with Kate Lanigan (Hermitage) and Anna Abom (Edmondstown) also in contention in the top three.
The next Bridgestone Order of Merit event for the men will see Portumna host the Connacht Stroke Play this coming weekend. The women now turn their attentions to the AIG Women’s Irish Amateur Close in Connemara on 22 June.
