Golf Roundup: O’Sullivan finishes second as seniors tee off in Clare

use john manley golf roundup logo . . please bold subheads; last two items can trim

set hed:

Golf Roundup: O’Sullivan finishes second as seniors tee off in Clare

By John Manley

The European Seniors Tour stayed in Ireland, traveling west to Bodyke, Co. Clare, after pulling up stakes in Portrush, Co. Antrim. The locale may have changed, but one facet of the result didn’t: an Irishman finished second, although this time his name wasn’t Eddie Polland and a playoff wasn’t necessary.

England’s John Morgan held off the late charge of Denis O’Sullivan to prevail by one shot, 205-206, in the West of Ireland Seniors Championship at the East Clare Golf Club.

Morgan and Ulster’s David Jones led the pack into the third and final round, with 36-hole scores of 133 and 134 respectively. Morgan shot 72 the final time around, while Jones blew up to 73, as

O’Sullivan caught fire with a 67 to miss a tie with Morgan by one shot. O’Sullivan shot 72 and 67 in his first two rounds. Jones held sole possession of third place at 207. Liam Higgins also managed to crack the top 10, tying for 8th at 210 (70-71-69).

Others who were playing on home soil were Paul Leonard, who tied for 22nd at 215 (70-70-75); Joe McDermott, tied for 26th at 218 (75-71-72); Gerry Egan, tied for 35th at 219 (71-72-76); Jimmy Kinsella, tied for 38th at 220 (76-69-75); Tony Coveney (74-74-73) and Dr. Arthur Spring (71-76-74), tied for 40th at 221; and Tommy Halpin, 48th at 223 (73-74-76).

Christy O’Connor, at the age of 73, matched his age with his first-round score, then bettered it by a stroke the second time around, which was good enough to make the cut.

O’Connor, however, came down with vertigo prior to the final round and withdrew. A score of 149 or better was needed to make the cut. Failing to do so were: Kenny Stevenson (150), Hugh Jackson (150), Adam Whiston (150), Arnold O’Connor (150), Gordon Parkhill (151), Bryan Malone (152), Michael Murphy (155), Norman Drew (157) and Ernie Jones (159).

This was the first year that this tournament was held and the course, set amid a rolling terrain in a park, was designed by Dr. Spring. Local residents bought shares in a company that was set up to finance construction and volunteers were instrumental in converting the soil into its present use. The front nine opened in 1995, with the back nine added in July of 1997.

PGA tour

They finally finished the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in California on Monday, after having abandoned play in February when rain rendered the three courses used in the tournament unplayable.

Richard Coughlan shot a 73 to finish tied for 56th after 54 holes. His final score was a 3-under 213. Keith Nolan remains in a slump and he showed no signs of snapping out of it as he came in with a 75 to finish 2 over par for the tournament at 218. The score placed him in a tie for 101st. Phil Mickelson was the champion with a score of 202 in the event which was shortened to 54 holes.

Nike tour

John Kernohan tied for 31st place in the Ozarks Open at the Highland Springs Country Club in Springfield, Mo. He sandwiched rounds of 1-under 71 around a 68 and a 69 to finish at 9-under 279, which was 12 strokes off Anthony Painter’s winning score. Kernohan earned $1,193.