​Scratch Cup this weekend
The Portsalon Scratch Cup takes place on Saturday afternoon and is once more sponsored by Manor Motors Opel. The Senior Scratch Cup is for playing handicaps up to and including nine, with the intermediate event for playing handicaps from 10-18. Booking is available via BRS or by calling the shop on 074 9159459.
Junior takeover in Portsalon
Thursday 24th August was the traditional late summer day when our junior members and those from visiting clubs, as well lots of eager beginners, took over Portsalon for the annual Shaw Shield and Kernaghan Cup.
We had nearly 50 entrants across both competitions on what was a lovely sunny morning for golf and, typically, the combatants couldn’t wait to get started.
Under the watchful eye of Junior Convenor Eamonn McConigley and Club Manager Daragh Lyons and their valued volunteers, it all got going from 9.00am.
The Shaw Shield – for officially GUI-handicapped juveniles – was won by Daithi McDaid with an excellent score of 41 points, while Harry Brown won the Matchplay final of the Kernaghan Cup, defeating Dillon Gildea in the final.
Huge congrats to all our juniors, from near and afar, that competed today. The future is in good hands!
Shaw Shield
Winner: Daithi McDaid – 41 pts
Runner-up: Aoibhe McLarnon – 40 pts
Third: Sean Og McGrenaghan 39 pts
Kernaghan Cup
Winner: Harry Brown
Runner-up: Dillon Gildea
Semi-finalists: Aidan McGrenaghan and Eamonn Samson
Club Results
Wednesday 23rd August
Winner: Martin O'Reilly (26) – 39 pts BOT
Runner-up: John Shields (19) – 39 pts BOT
Gross: Chris Duffy (3) – 35 gross pts
Third: Giles Kilpatrick (23) – 39 pts
Saturday 26th August
Winner: Denver Kirk (23) – 38 pts
Runner-up: Barry McFall (9) – 37 pts BOT
Gross: Sean Forbes (6) – 31 gross pts
Third: Darren Murray (14) – 37 pts
Sunday 27th August
Winnner: Gareth McLarnon (14) – 67
Runner-up: Trevor Duncan (21) – 70
Gross: Johnny Shields (3) – 75 gross
Third: Gerard Duffy (10) - 71

Cannon fires Presidents Prize rivals away
Donal Callaghan Snr held his Presidents' Prize on Saturday and, after some shocking early morning weather, it turned out to be a fine – if breezy – afternoon for golf.
The early starters may have got the worst of the weather but that wasn't enough to stop Aidan Cannon (23) from setting a target that the field couldn't get near as he tallied a stunning 47 points.
After a slow start, pars on the third, fourth and fifth got him going and another on eight was followed by a birdie on the ninth. Five more pars on the back nine brought him home in an exceptional 84 strokes to win the final Major of the summer for Portsalon members.
Second place went to Michael Martin (27) with 41 points, with Johnny Shields (4) lifting the gross prize with 34 gross points.
The Ladies winner on the day was Noreen McConigley (29) with 38 points, while Claire McGonagle (6) took the gross with 24 gross points.

​Donal Callaghan's Presidents' Prize – Saturday 19th August
Winner: Aidan Cannon (23) – 47 pts
Runner-up: Michael Martin (27) – 41 pts
Gross: Johnny Shields (4) – 34 gross pts
Third: Sean Forbes (8) – 39 pts
Best Lady: Noreen McConigley (29) – 38 pts
Ladies Gross: Claire McGonagle (6) – 24 gross pts
First Nine: Stuart Nicholl (26) – 21 pts
Second Nine: Joe Coyle (12) – 23 pts
Past President: Garret Horkan (30) – 32 pts BOT
Visitor: Damian Gallagher (10) – 39 pts
Nearest the Pin: Ryan McGettigan
Longest Drive Gents: Sean Canning
Longest Drive Ladies: Claire McGonagle

Portsalon Scratch Cup 2023
The Portsalon Scratch Cup takes place on Saturday 2nd September, once more kindly sponsored by Manor Motors. The timesheet is now open via BRS or bookings can be made via the shop on 074 9159459.

Club Results
Sunday 20th August
Winner: Michael McFadden (21) – 38 pts
Runner-up: James Durning (25) – 35 pts BOT
Gross: Ryan McGettigan (+1) – 35 gross pts
Third: Denis Friel (18) – 35 pts
Ladies Notes
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Ulster final glory for Portsalon
Portsalon Ladies Intermediate Cup Team had an outstanding victory over Belfast's Dunmurry GC at the Ulster (North) Finals on Sunday last at Allen Park Antrim.
Despite the late change of venue by Golf Ireland to switch from Letterkenny GC to the borough council public course in Antrim, the Portsalon girls were not deterred.
Unlike the familiarity of Letterkenny, the Portsalon team had never played at Allen Park, managing to squeeze in just one practice round before Sunday's final.
In fairness, Allen Park pulled out all stops to prepare their fairways and greens after the short notice request by Golf Ireland for use of their course to host a full time table of finals, including the Mens and Womens AIG Junior Cups , The AIG Mens Pierce Purcell and the AIG Womens Intermediate Cup.
The team bus left Portsalon at 10.30am on Sunday morning filled with players, caddies and supporters, the atmosphere on board was a mixture of excitement, anticipation and determination.
The first match at Allen Park gave Portsalon the perfect start with an incredible early win by the on form Deirdre O' Toole, who won her match on the 14th hole.
The second match was a much tighter affair, Lady Captain Claire Ferry had a magnificent come back on the finishing holes to win in style on the 18th.
Sarah Nicholl and Deirdre Hensey  were very unlucky not to win their matches, which were closely contested and hard fought by Sarah and Deirdre who had a 100 per-cent record at home in the qualifying rounds
The final match was won by Roisin McCormack on the 19th tie hole. Roisin sunk a fantastic 'crowd pleasing' putt on the 18th to go all square and force the playoff.
With nerves of steel, both Roisin and her opponent teed off and walked the final fairway followed by the entourage from Portsalon and Dunmurry.
The 'make or break' outcome rested firmly on the shoulders of McCormack, who seemed oblivious of the pressure and clinched the match with another exceptionally confident putt.
The jubilant Portsalon players, caddies and supporters were beyond excited by their victory and qualification to the All-Ireland Quarter Finals, to be played in Dundalk Golf Club on September 2nd.
Team Captain Roseanne Logue paid special tribute to the panel of seven players who had all played matches on route to the final including Aedeen Conway and Marian Overend.
The team had beaten Bushfoot, Ballybofey, Newtownstewart and Kilrea against the odds with only two home draws.
Onwards now to another neutral venue Dundalk GC on September 2nd to play the team from Black Bush in Co Meath for a place in the All Ireland semi-finals. 
On what was a brilliant day for golf in the north-west, Strabane GC also completed an historic treble as they won the Ulster Cup, the Pierce Purcell and the Junior Cup. 

Presidents Day
Donal Callaghan Snr will stage his Presidents Day this Saturday, 19th August, the final major of the season at Portsalon. Booking on BRS is now available and there are still a few time slots available. Alternatively, members can call the shop on 074 9159459.

Divot evening
Thanks to all that turned out for the Divot Evening on Monday, which enabled ten holes to be covered alongside the greens staff. Given the sheer volume of traffic on the course over the busy summer months, this kind of quick-fire divot filling is an enormous benefit to the course.

Scratch Cup 2023 sponsored by Manor Motors
The Portsalon Scratch Cup takes place on Saturday 2nd September. The event is once more sponsored by Manor Motors. The Senior Scratch Cup is for handicaps 0-9, while the Intermediate Scratch Cup covers the 10-18 range. BRS booking will open on Friday 18th August at 6.00pm.

Club Results
Wednesday 9th August
Winner: Liam Barrett (29) – 44 pts BOT
Runner-up: Vincent Bradley (25) – 44 pts
Gross: Michael Campbell (3) – 38 gross pts
Third: Cathal Toland (14) – 42 pts

Saturday 12th August
Winner: Shaun Callaghan (13) – 39 pts
Runner-up: Vincent Loughran (29) – 37 pts
Gross: Michael Campbell (2) – 34 gross pts

Sunday 13th August
Winner: Shaun Gibbons (10) – 42 pts
Runner-up: Jonathan Gallagher (17) – 39 pts BOT
Gross: Ryan McGettigan (+1) – 35 pts
Third: Ronan Sweeney (21) – 39 pts

Presidents Day
Donal Callaghan Snr will stage his Presidents Day on Saturday 19th August, the final major of the season at Portsalon. Booking on BRS is available from 6.00pm on Saturday 12th August. 

Charlie Canning Memorial – Saturday 5th August
One of our most treasured opens of the summer and a staple of the August Bank Holiday weekend, the Charlie Canning Memorial took place on Saturday last for the ninth time.
The overall winner on the day was 10 handicapper Sean Forbes with a superb contribution of 43 points, just enough to see off Dan Curran and Patrick McDevitt by a single point. 
Winner: Sean Forbes (10) – 43 pts
Runner-up: Dan Curran (20) – 42 pts
Gross: Jamie Foley (2) – 35 gross pts
Third: Patrick McDevitt (16) – 42 pts
Best Lady: Frances Shannon (26) – 33 pts
First Nine: Shaun Callaghan (16) – 22 pts
Second Nine: Jack Forbes (17) – 22 pts

Second Barton Cup win for Ducky 
As always, the August Bank Holiday Monday was our Barton Cup Day, the long-standing tradition of one of Ireland's oldest matchplay competitions. After morning qualifying, the quarter-final pairings were underway from just after 1.00pm. 
John Joe McGowan, one of our newer members, came through to contest the Barton Cup final at his first attempt afters wins over two-handicapper Michael Campbell and Alistair Rodger.
Facing him was Donal Callaghan Jnr after he disposed of Ryan McGettigan (isn't it like) in the marquee last eight tie and then got the better of Brian Devlin in a tough semi-final.
The final was a great battle and it went all the way final to the last hole where a closing par was enough to keep Ducky's lead intact and see him adding a second Barton Cup to his CV, a mere 23 years after the first! Well done to all that played in this Portsalon original on the day and to the organising committee for running a smooth event. 

Plus-points for Ryan McGettigan
The Barton Cup may have been just out of reach for Ryan McGettigan this year, but it has nonetheless been a stunning summer of golf from the Kerrykeel man. 
Across the last number of months, his golf has been marked by sheer consistency of scoring and that has allowed him to get to, and maintain, a plus-handicap for the first time. Ryan is first member of Portsalon in a generation to take up golf at our club, hone his skills exclusively as a member here, and successfully complete the journey to becoming a scratch player.
On Wednesday last, he went around in a four-under 68 gross score, carding eight birdies with a ball-striking display that helped him to three two's on the back nine par threes. It's a magnificent achievement and, at the current rate, there could be more to come give the level of consistency he has found. 

​Club Results 
Wednesday 2nd August
Winner: Shane McNamee (23) – 41 pts
Runner-up: Ryan McGettigan (+1) – 39 pts
Gross: Michael Campbell (3) – 31 gross pts
Third: Alan O'Doherty (13) – 37 pts

Sunday 6th August 
Winner: TJ Evesson (18) – 46 pts
Runner-up: Paul Travers (14) – 40 pts
Gross: Ryan McGettigan (+1) – 35 gross pts
Third: Damien Buchanan (17) – 39 pts

​Charlie Canning Memorial 
This Bank Holiday weekend is set to be a busy one at Portsalon with open competitions on Saturday and Monday. We begin with the ever-popular Charlie Canning Memorial on Saturday, a stableford event for ladies and gents, run in memory of our former greenkeeper. The Canning family as always will have a splendid array of prizes and the timesheet is already busy.
Barton Cup – August Bank Holiday 
The Barton Cup is one of Portsalon's traditional 'Majors' and once more takes place on Bank Holiday Monday. As with last year, the format sees a nine-hole stableford qualifiers – tee times available until 10.00am on the day, with the top six nett and two gross scores going forward to the nine-hole matchplay quarter-finals (tee-off 1.00pm). This unique event is played all on one day and is sure to attract a big entry, with the chance for the winner to add their name to an illustrious list of champions while also claiming top prize of a Garmin watch worth more than €500. 
Results 
Saturday 29th July – Stableford
Winner: Richard Owens (11) – 36 pts
Sunday 30th July – Medal 
Winner: Alistair Rodger (18) – 69
Runner-up: Donal McCafferty (13) – 70
Gross: Michael Campbell (3) – 74 gross
Third: Paul L Armstrong (18) – 71
Ladies Notes 
Maíre O Donnell Team Update
In torrential rain on Sunday 30th July, the Portsalon Maíre O Donnell team headed to Letterkenny GC in search if at least one and half matches.
Conditions could not have been tougher, protection from the constant down pour was the greatest challenge, even the most water proof bags and zips were tested.
Portsalon had secured 4 matches and 10 holes in the home leg against Letterkenny.
Team Captain Sarah Nicholl knew it would be tough in Letterkenny but no one anticipated the task ahead but the match had to be played and despite greens that became water logged Portsalon persevered.
Portsalon sisters Pamela and Dana Clinton won their match comfortably on the15th hole, which left match 4 and 5 to battle it out still needing that half match. Luckily for Portsalon their hole deficit meant the last matches were called in on the 17th.
Team Captain Sarah was delighted her team have progressed and thanked the Portsalon supporters who turned out in Letterkenny despite the wettest of Sunday afternoons. Portsalon now face Gweedore in the semi-final, the away leg being played on Sunday 13th August.