O'Flaherty the form horse for Lee Valley Scratch Cup

Gary O'Flaherty in action in Lee Valley at the Boylesports Senior Scratch Cup last year. Picture: Niall O'Shea

Cork’s Gary O’Flaherty will be going for a hat-trick of wins — and his fourth in eight years —when he defends the BoyleSports sponsored Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup this weekend.

The Munster interprovincial closed with a 71 to win the 54-hole event by two strokes from Mallow's James Sugrue (70) and Castletroy's Andrew McCormack (74) on four-under-par 212 in 2017 before returning to win it again last year.

He shot rounds of 75, 64 and 72 to win by four strokes from Massereene’s Irish international Tiarnan McLarnon, who is back again for what promises to be a hotly-contested 2019 edition.

Kilkenny’s Mark Power, whose mother Eileen Rose (nee McDaid) partnered Fred Couples in an exhibition fourball win over Eavan Higgins and course designer Christy O’Connor Jnr at the 1993 opening of the course, will be making his debut in the event.

Power, who is the low man in the field off plus-five, will play with up and coming Lee Valley star Mel Deasy, winner of the pre-qualifier for the West of Ireland Championship earlier this month, and Galway international Ronan Mullarney, who will be one of the favourites to claim the trophy.

O’Flaherty goes off with Mallow international Sugrue and the former Mullingar Scratch Trophy winner, Geoff Lenehan from Portmarnock

Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup, sponsored by BoyleSports (April 27-28)

• Hole 1a Mark Power (Kilkenny) -5, Ronan Mullarney (Galway) -4, Mel Deasy (Lee Valley) Scr;

• Hole 1b James Sugrue (Mallow) -4, Geoff Lenehan (Portmarnock) -3, Gary O'Flaherty (Cork) -2;

• Hole 2a Colm Campbell (Warrenpoint) -3, Eanna Griffin (Waterford) -3, Gerard Dunne (Co Louth) -3;

• Hole 2b Robert Moran (Castle) -3, Tiarnan McLarnon (Massereene) -3, Jack Pierse (Portmarnock) -2;

• Hole 3 Keelan McCarthy (Lee Valley), 1 Sean Desmond (Monkstown) -2, Jamie Fletcher (Warrenpoint) -1;

• Hole 4 Ben Murray (Waterford Castle) -1, Eoghan Long (Monkstown) -1, Shane McGlynn (Portmarnock) -1;

• Hole 5a Padraig O’Connor (Macroom) -1, Ian Lynch (Rosslare) Scr, Gavin Lynch (Cobh) Scr; 

• Hole 5b Conor McDowall (Cobh) Scr, Kieran Lynch  (Skibbereen) Scr, Bob Loftus (Lahinch) Scr; 

• Hole 6a Richard Knightly (Royal Dublin) -1, Dean McMahon (Castletroy) -1, Greg O'Mahony (Fota Island) Scr;

• Hole 6b John O'Brien (Castlemartyr) Scr, Mark McKenna (Dun Laoghaire) Scr, Stephen O'Neill (Killarney) Scr;

• Hole 7 Mark Ford (Cork) Scr, Scott O'Brien (Nenagh) Scr, Lee McMillan (City West) Scr;

• Hole 8a Alan Considine (Lahinch) 2, Paul Tobin (Douglas) 1, Stephen Brady (Galway) 1;

• Hole 8b Paul Carey (Nenagh) 1, Mark Shanahan (West Waterford) Scr, Shane Kenneally (Kinsale) Scr;

• Hole 9a Kieran McCarthy (Kinsale) Scr, James Murray (Lee Valley) 2, Ed Hannon (Lee Valley) 4;

• Hole 9b Cormac Finn (Killarney) 1, Pat Power (Lee Valley) 2, Mark Healy (Kinsale) Scr;

• Hole 10 Paul Buckley (Cork) -3, Joe Lyons (Galway) -2, Keith Crowley (Fota Island) Scr;

• Hole 11a Ronan Curran (Lee Valley) 3, Cian Hourihan (Lee Valley) 3, Paul Coleman (Lee Valley) 3;

• Hole 11b Ian Bohane (Lee Valley) 1, Ian Bermingham (Douglas) 1, Jason Galway (Lee Valley) 1;

• Hole 12a Keith Fitzpatrick (Kinsale) Scr, Adam McSweeney (Douglas) 1, Eoin O'Donnell (Tralee) 1;

• Hole 12b Eric Rumley (Kinsale) 1, Ian Spillane (Killarney) 1, Christopher Taylor (Kanturk) 1;

• Hole 13 Thomas O'Flynn (Fota Island) 1, Fergal O'Sullivan (Tralee) 1, Philip Spratt (West Waterford) 1; 

• Hole 14a Conor Dowling (Mallow) 1, Patrick Naughton (Limerick) 1, Fionn Hickey (Muskerry) 1;

• Hole 14b Niall Doran (Cobh) 1, Kevin Collins (Fermoy) 1, Darren O'Donoghue (Bandon) 2; 

• Hole 15 Cillian Moloney (Fota Island) Scr, Kieran Murphy (Cork) Scr, Cillian Twomey (Fermoy) Scr;

• Hole 16a Aaron Grant (Dundalk) -1, Cathal Butler (Kinsale) -1, Sean Enright (Limerick) -1;

• Hole 16b Robbie Pierse (Grange) -1, Alan Thomas (Tramore) -1, Gary Ward (Kinsale) -1;

• Hole 17 Stephen Walsh (Portmarnock) -2, David Kitt (Athenry) -1, Shane Hogan (Nenagh) -1;

• Hole 18a Jack McDonnell (Forrest Little) -2, Andrew McCormack (Castletroy) -2, Ian O'Rourke (Cork) -2;

• Hole 18b James Fox (Portmarnock) -2, David Reddan (Nenagh) -2, Ian O'Flynn (Cork) -2. 

Waiting List

1. Anton O’Callaghan Tralee GC 2

2. Jonathan O’Sullivan Cork GC 2

3. Alan Moriarty Macroom 2

4. Jonathan Quinn The Island GC 2

5. Dean O’Riordan Fermoy 2

6. Greg Barrett Mallow 3

7. Conor Roche Mallow GC 3

8. Alan Riordan Blarney GC 3

9. Diarmaid Scanlon Newcastlewest 3

10. Robbie Walsh Kinsale 3

11. David Fitzgerald Tralee GC 3

12. Eoin Goggin Tralee GC 3

13. Cathal O’Carroll Charleville GC 3

14. Sean Deasy Douglas GC 3

15. Lewy Halpin Shannon GC 3

16. Conor Og Madigan Kanturk 3

17. Eoghan O’Shaughnessy Muskerry 3

18. Killian Cotter Doneraile 3

19. Peter Hannon Kanturk 4

20. Jack Boyd Lee Valley 4

from News - Irish Golf Desk http://bit.ly/2vh7CnV