Deerpark's Damien Fleming was crowned Munster Senior Mens Strokeplay winner for a second time on his home course yesterday evening as a final round of six under par gave him a tournament total of 26 under par, four ahead of Limerick's Kieran Earls and Cork's Ray Murphy.
Fleming's previous win came at another Kerry course in Listowel back in 2019 as the win was the fourth Kerry success of the weekend at Deerpark with Ajay Barrett of Listowel having won the Intermediate Mens event on Saturday as Deerpark's Ciara Lowe won Sunday's Intermediate Ladies competition and Tralee's Silvia Raicu won the Junior Ladies event. 
Full report:
Last weekend’s Munster Adult Strokeplay Championships in Deerpark, Killarney delivered four provincial titles out of a possible six over both Saturday and Sunday as Deerpark, Listowel and Tralee all celebrated victories.
The host club saw Damien Fleming win his second Munster Senior Mens Strokeplay title as just like seven years earlier in Listowel he won on Kerry soil. A first 36 holes of 20 under par gave him a five stroke lead over the field heading into the final 18 holes as although he encountered some difficulty on the 12th hole on the way home he managed to emerge successful with a score of 26 under par.
That was four shots clear of Limerick’s Kieran Earls and Cork’s Ray Murphy as the other Kerry Mens success had come on Saturday when Listowel’s Ajay Barrett won the Intermediate Mens event to go with his 2022 National U16 Boys Strokeplay win at Deerpark as well. He encountered some difficulty on the 54th and final hole but managed to post the winning total of seven under par, two ahead of Deerpark’s Daniel Broderick as James Foley came close to making it a treble for the county in the three Mens events as his eight over par total in the Junior Mens event saw him claim second, four shots behind winner John E O’Donovan from Cork.
The other two Kerry successes came in the Intermediate and Junior Ladies events which were played over 36 holes. Deerpark’s Ciara Lowe also overcame some final hole nerves to win the Intermediate event with a score of 10 over par, four ahead of her nearest challenger Mary Quinn from Tipperary. In the Junior Ladies event meanwhile Tralee’s Silvia Raicu won with a score of +28, four ahead of her nearest challenger Eileen Hanley from Cork as Tralee’s Bernadette O’Regan finished third on countback on +35. The Senior Ladies event meanwhile was won by Tipperary’s Breda White with a very impressive score of 11 under par.
The County Board congratulates all four Kerry winners on their successes and commends Deerpark on their hosting of the event and the condition of the course despite the difficulties the recent heatwave brought with it. The County Board also congratulates those who were involved in the National Community Games successes over the weekend. It leads us on to this Saturday’s Munster U16 Singles and Inter-County events in ESB in Cork as we wish all the Kerry competitors and the ‘Gold’ and ‘Green’ Inter-County teams the very best of luck.
On the adult front the National Strokeplay Qualifiers take place this weekend as the Intermediate and Junior Mens events will take place in Listowel on Friday evening to avoid a clash with not only the All-Ireland SFC Final on Sunday but also the final Intermediate and Junior Mens Inter-County team trials which take place on Saturday at the Munster Finals venue in Riverdale, Nenagh.
The Senior Men meanwhile are part of a regional qualifier that will take place in Cunnigar in Dungarvan, Co Waterford, however both Deerpark’s Damien Fleming and Tralee’s Jason Cregan are automatic already for this year’s Finals on account of their first and third place finishes in the finals last year.
Best of luck to all the Kerry players in the various events this weekend.
