Last Friday evening saw the qualifying spots for Kerry for the National Gents Matchplay Qualifying decided in Castleisland as four players earned the right to join defending champion Damien Fleming of Deerpark in the finals in Larkspur Park, Cashel, Co Tipperary on the first weekend in September.
All four spots went to Tralee players as Jason O’Regan led home last Friday evening’s clean sweep with a score of 11 under par for 36 holes. Both Alan Hobbart and County Intermediate Strokeplay Champion Michael Conway followed with 10 under par as Darren Goodall claimed the final spot with a score of seven under par.
The weekend itself was tinged with sadness though as we were all shocked to learn of the death of the mother of our Non-Portfolio Officer and current County Senior Strokeplay holder Jason Cregan, Christina, the day after Friday’s qualifiers. The County Board offers its sincerest sympathies to Jason and his family at this time on Christina’s sad death.
This weekend sees two days of action with the U16’s kicking off the weekend on Saturday with their County Matchplay Championships in Tralee. There will be three grades this year as well as we have Boys 8-12 and 13-15 grades along with a Girls competitions for the first time in many years. Full details of the event will be posted on our Facebook page prior to Saturday.
Then on Sunday the National Gents Strokeplay Qualifiers take place in Newmarket with 21 spots on offer to 64 entered players for the finals in Collins, Cork in late September. The Juniors will begin firstly at 8.30am with 10 spots on offer for 26 entries as the Intermediates will follow at 9.20am with 7 spots for 27 entries. The seniors round out the day then with 4 spots for 12 players as they tee-off from 12pm.
The County Board confirms that public health guidelines will be followed in the playing of this weekend’s events as the dress code will also be in effect.
