Monkstown golfer Cian McDonnell wins second Kerry Boys title

Monkstown’s Cian McDonnell put together six impressive rounds last week to win the Kerry Boys Championship for the second time. 

The 2024 winner went to Ballybunion last week hoping to do well, and he started very smartly shooting rounds of 70 and 71 to lead the field of over 135 golfers. 

He was the only golfer to finish under par after two rounds on the Cashen.

From there he put on an impressive matchplay performance, winning the first and second round matches after building a lead. He had to come from behind to beat Kinsale’s Adam Barr on the 18th, and in the final he closed out the match on the 16th when his scorecard read -4.

The Monkstown member also did something unique, he was the first person to win the event in non consecutive years. In its history, only five golfers have managed to win it more than once. Needless to say, he was delighted with the win.

“It feels brilliant to win the Kerry Boys” said McDonnell. “It’s a competition I really wanted to do well in, so to come through and win it again is a great feeling. I felt confident going into the week that my game was in good shape, and I knew if I could play my own game and stay patient, I’d have a very good chance.”

“I played well in the qualifiers and got off to a good start in the matchplay, but the semi-final against Adam, who I played Interpros with the week before, was a real battle. I found myself behind and had to stay patient and keep believing I could turn it around. It was tough to come from behind, but I managed to dig in when I needed to and get myself into the final, which was a great feeling.”

The Monkstown member has a few more important events this season, including an All Ireland final in Moate this week. “I’ll be playing for Monkstown in the Junior Foursomes Irish finals this week and that will be the focus. After that, it will be the Munster Under 18’s and some local scratch cups to finish off the season.”

David Howard continued his good form at the AIG Irish Close in Portumna. The Fota Island member finished in a tie for 6th place after rounds of 69, 74, 70, 70 saw him finish on -5.

While Howard continues his recent trend of consistent championship results, he narrowly missed out on winning the Bridgestone Order of Merit. A bogey on the final hole in Portumna saw him drop from a tie for third to a tie for 6th, and importantly 53 order of merit points which would have meant he would have won the Bridgestone Tour by a single point.

Although he finished the year without a championship win, 2026 has seen another improvement in Howard’s game. Howard’s finish ensures him entry into all of the Championship events next year, and he’ll have a newfound confidence, knowing that he can compete at the highest level in Irish amateur golf.

James Sugrue saw both sides of life on tour last week as he went from a big payday to missing the cut within four days. At the start of the week Sugrue was in action at the two day K Club ProAm. An impressive opening 66 had him within one shot of the lead. Sugrue was playing the South course on day one and after going out in one under, he came back with five birdies to sign for six under. On the second day he moved to the North course, and backed up his previous round with a three under par 69. That had him in the clubhouse on -9, and a second place would have saw him claim €10,000. Unfortunately for the Mallow man, a late burst from Josh Crumplin meant they shared second place, and Sugrue claimed €7,500 in prize money.

On Thursday he teed it up at the Irish Challenge in Kileen Castle, shooting a one under par 71 to place him well inside the cut line. Unfortunately Sugrue had a tough start on Friday and found himself ten over after the opening nine holes. He rallied in the second half of the round, three birdies in his last five holes helped but he still signed for 81 and outside the cut.

Sugrue is back in action this week, he heads to Finland for the Vierumaki Challenge as he hopes for a good finish to the season and retain his HotelPlanner Tour card for next season.