O'Neill wins President's Prize

​Cathal O’Neill won his first major when he won Eddie Rogers’ President Prize over the weekend of August 23 and 24.
Playing off 19 he produced an exception round in which he managed to keep a double bogey off his card and had nine pars and nine bogeys as he went out in 41 gross and came home in 40 gross for a nett score of 62.
That was enough to give him a two shot victory over the reigning Golfer of the Year Frank Byrne who shot a nett 64 off 13.
  O’Neill parred the first, fourth, sixth and eight on the way out to turn in 31 nett and after pars at the 10th and 11th he had further pars at the 14th, 15th and 17th to come home in 31 nett and take overall victory.
Byrne, playing off 13, also produced a round with no double bogeys, as he shot a gross score of 77. His round included a birdie four at the 10th and a birdie three at the 18th as well as pars at the second, third, fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth as he went out in 33 nett. Pars at the 12th, 15th and 16th as well as those two birdies saw him come home in 31 nett.
Dean King (8) shot 67 nett to win Division 1 on countback from the President’s son, Brendan, while Padraig Fallon (16) also needed countback to win Division 2 after both he and Chris Connolly (13) shot 66 nett. Countback was also need in Division 3 where James Rogers (24) pipped Robert Lynch (19) after both had shot 65 nett.
Chris Clarke marked his 21st birthday by winning the gross prize with a level par 72 while Brian Crombie (24) won the Veteran’s Prize with a 67 nett and that score also propelled him him to the top of the Golfer of the Year standings with just one round to go.
Saturday, August 23 and Sunday, August 24 - Eddie Rogers’ Presidents Prize GOY 9 - Overall: Cathal O'Neill (19) 62, Frank P Byrne (13) 64. Division 1: Dean King (8) 67, Brendan Rogers (10) 67, Mark Cumiskey (10) 68. Division 2: Padraig Fallon (16) 66, Chris Connolly (13) 66, Cormac Malone (12) 68. Division 3: James Rogers (24) 65, Robert Lynch (19) 65, Charles Sheppard (24) 67. Gross: Chris Clarke 72. Veteran: Brian Crombie (25) 67