O'connor leads home harry walsh cup qualifiers

Ben O’Connor led home the 16 qualifiers for the Harry Walsh Cup with a super score of 37pts off 18.
He edged out Oisin Cairns (20) by one point for the leading qualifier accolade and now enters the matchplay stage as the top seed. He has been drawn against Kieran Lally in the first round while Cairns will face Noel McGuinness.
The Harry Walsh Cup is restricted to those with a minimum handicap index of 17 and the cut mark for the 16 places in the matchplay stage fell at 31pts.
The qualifier was part of the singles stableford competition played over the Easter weekend which was won by Conor Conroy. Playing off 15 he shot 39pts on the green course and that was one point better than Dermot McKenna (16) who finished on 38pts.
McKenna’s had to settle for winning Division 2 by one point from Rbert Lynch (13) while Division 1 was won by Robert O’Hanlon (4) although he needed a last nine countback to pip Austin Shaw (8) after both had tied on 39pts.
Division 3, which catered for handicap indexes above 16.6, was effectively the qualifying competition for the Harry Walsh as O’Connor and Cairns filled the top positions.
Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 – Singles Stableford and Harry Walsh Cup Qualifier – Overall: Conor Conroy (15) 39pts. Division 1: Robert O'Hanlon (4) 37pts (Last Nine Countback), Austin Shaw (8) 37pts (Last Nine Countback). Division 2: Dermot McKenna (16) 38pts, Robert Lynch (13) 37pts. Division 3: Ben O'Connor (18) 37pts, Oisin Cairns (20) 36pts (Last Nine Countback).
Harry Walsh Cup – Matchplay Draw 2026 - Round 1: Ben O’Connor v Kieran Lally, Bill McCarthy v Oliver McGinnity, Michael Noone v Andrew Lynch, John McEneaney v Johannes Steenvoorden, Eamon Kelly v Eddie McArdle, George Rogers v John Laverty, Kevin Callan v Danny O’Brien, Oisin Cairns v Noel McGuinness.
ENDS