Rossmore professional Shaun Donnelly made off with top prize at the Ulster Golf Association’s 2023 Open Series event at Lough Erne.
Donnelly fired a four-under round of 68 to card 40 points at the neighbouring course, two clear of trio Michael McGeady, Nicholas Grant and Richard Kilpatrick who tied for second.
Three birdies in his opening six holes built the foundations for Donnelly’s win, though a bogey at the seventh would see him turn at -2, with 20 points on the board. An eagle-two at the tenth – a four pointer – left him in a commanding position, and though he’d bogey the par-4 13th, back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15 meant that a closing bogey wasn’t enough to derail the Enniskillen man and he took victory on his first competitive start of the season.
Grant’s front nine -3, good for 21 points, was the best of the field, with birdies coming at two and seven, and an eagle-three at the fourth, before a bogey at the ninth halted his momentum. He’d birdie just one of the inward loop, bogeying the 13th and the last to tie with McGeady who was -2 for the front and Kilpatrick who was -2 for the back.
Lough Erne’s own Damian Mooney finished solo fifth on 35 points.
Meanwhile, 2017 Irish PGA Champion Tim Rice topped the field at the Munster PGA event at Cork Golf Club, the Limerick pro shooting -3 for a 39-point total, two clear of Waterville’s David Higgins with East Cork’s David Ryan a point further back in solo-third. Marian Riordan, David Barry and Padraig Dooley were in a three-way tie for fourth on 34 points.
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