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Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Ireland amateurs fall short in European bronze medal match
Ireland battled hard but were defeated by England in the bronze medal match at the European Amateur Team Championship in Killarney Golf & Fishing Club. While at the same time Italy were crowned champions after a phenomenal 6-1 victory over Denmark in the final played in sweltering heat. Ireland did secure a precious bronze at the European Girls' Team Championship, with a fantastic 4-3 comeback win against Germany in Slaley Hall, however it wasn't to be for the men. Ireland came so close to booking their place in an historic home final, when they lost to a rejuvenated Denmark side on Friday afternoon, and having lost the morning foursomes 2-0 to England, it looked set to be another tough result. But the hosts piled on the pressure in the afternoon with Stuart Grehan winning his match 5&3 against Daniel Hayes before Matt McClean finished off Eliot Baker on a 6&5 scoreline. England looked in trouble but they came roaring back and Tyler Weaver defeated Thomas Higgins by 1 hole. John Doyle continued his stunning week with a 19th hole win over Luke Poulter but Charlie Forster's brilliant pitch on the 19th hole of his tie with Caolan Rafferty, sealed Ireland's fate. Meanwhile, the Italians had a comprehensive victory over the Danes with former professional, and team coach Alberto Benaghi, thrilled to see his passionate side come out on top. 'It's almost indescribable. We are very, very proud of what we did, especially when we play in Ireland with such a history in golf. To win on this course and to win in such style, because we really played great yesterday against England and very, very good today,' said Benaghi. 'Today we were really unstoppable so I am very proud of my team. We really enjoyed every single moment. 'The foursomes this morning gave us a lot of strength. After 2-0 you have the responsibility of winning so you can feel the pressure but we played so good that we were very convinced that we could do the job. 'Sport has to be like this, you have to have passion, obviously when you win you celebrate more but you have to live sport like that, something that is coming from the heart.' Italy laid the platform for a dominant afternoon when Giovanni Binaghi and Biagio Andrea Gagliardi teamed up for an impressive 5&4 win. The other morning foursomes match also went the way of the Italians with Filippo Ponzano and Michele Ferrero accounting for their opponents on a 3&2 scoreline. The Danes were still dangerous, having bounced back from a 2-0 deficit against Ireland on Friday to secure their place in the final, but they couldn't replicate those heroics. Instead, Italy pressed on and Riccardo Fantinelli won the top match 2&1. Two more points followed from Ferrero and Ponzano and Italy were crowned champions of Europe. Elsewhere in Flight A, Sweden beat Finland 3-2 and France got the better of Germany 4.5 to 0.5. Switzerland won Flight B, while there were also wins for Poland, Iceland and Czech Republic.
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Leona Maguire just four behind in major quest at Evian Championship
The Co Cavan star (30) added a one-under 70 to rounds of 65 and 71 to share 12th place on seven-under par at Evian Resort. England's Cara Gainer and Australia's Gabriela Ruffels share the lead on 11-under par with the top 20 on the leaderboard covered by just five strokes. Maguire went into the third round hoping to hit more fairways and give herself more birdie chances. But while she hit 10 of 13 fairways and missed only two greens in regulation, she made little with the putter in terms of progressing up the leaderboard until late in her round. After failing to get up and down for par at the short second, the Solheim Cup star birdied the sixth but dropped another shot after missing another green at the par-three eighth. She finished strongly, however, rolling in birdies at the 210-yard 14th and the short par-four 17th to finish in a seven-way tie for 12th and give herself a chance on the final day in an event where she closed with a stunning 61 in 2021 to finish sixth. Gainer, who was third in the Jabra Ladies Open at Evian Resort earlier this season, made an eagle at the seventh and added six birdies in a seven-under 64 to share the lead. 'I made a great par save on the first, which really settled my nerves', said the LET winner. 'Then I made a great putt on the second hole for birdie. I think one-under through two, kind of settled me down and I rolled a nice putt in again on four. 'My eagle putt was definitely a highlight of the day. I hit a great drive, a great hybrid into the green - about ten feet and holed the putt.' ADVERTISEMENT Ruffels got off to a shaky start with a bogey on the first but bounced back with a birdie and the second and added five more to card an impressive 66. They lead by a shot from Australian duo Minjee Lee and Grace Kim, Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul, and South Korea's Somi Lee. Japan's Yuri Yoshida shot 63 to share seventh with South Africa's Casandra Alexander on nine-under while France's Nastasia Nadaud, South Korea's Jenny Shin, and Hye-Jin Choi are a further shot back in joint ninth on eight-under par. On the HotelPlanner Tour, Max Kennedy double-bogeyed the 17th and shot a one-under 69 that left him six shots off the lead heading into the final round of the D+D REAL Czech Challenge. The Dubliner is tied for 20th on 12-under behind Australia's Danny List and Spain's Albert Boneta, who head the field by two strokes on 17 under at Royal Beroun. Meanwhile, Ireland suffered playoff heartbreak for the second day running and lost 4-3 to England in the bronze medal match at the European Men's Amateur Team Championship in Killarney. Just 24 hours after losing on the 19th to Denmark in the semi-finals, the hosts trailed 2-0 after the morning foursomes following 4&3 defeats for Stuart Grehan and Caolan Rafferty and Thomas Higgins and John Doyle. Singles wins by Stuart Grehan and Matt McClean, and a one-hole defeat for Higgins to Weaver made it 3-3. The other two matches went to the 19th, but Ireland could only win one. Doyle beat Luke Poulter, the son of Ryder Cup legend Ian, to level the scores, but Rafferty fell at the first extra hole to Charlie Foster. Italy, who were champions on home soil in 1999, claimed the title for the second time with a resounding 6-1 over Denmark in the gold medal match.. Spain won the European Ladies' Team Championship with a 4.5-2.5 win over France at Golf de Chantilly, where Ireland beat England 3-2 to finish fifth.
