The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews might be moving with glacial speed towards accepting women as members, but at the coalface of professional golf, Hazel Kavanagh continues to break down barriers of discrimination.

In a thrilling finish to the Cassidy Golf 103rd €30,000 PGA Irish Championship at Roganstown yesterday, Michael McGeady snatched the title by a whisker from Damian Mooney and Cian McNamara.

If there’s an exact science to producing a conveyor belt of golfing talent, it’s yet to be discovered.

PORTMARNOCK professional Noel Fox was the last player into the Irish Open 2011 field yesterday after he received the eighth and final invitation to compete at Killarney from the European Tour.

CONNEMARA’S David Mortimer etched his place in the history books when he holed a monster 40-foot eagle putt on the last to win the Ladbrokes.com PGA Irish Championship by a stroke from European Tour star Damien McGrane.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON won’t be warming up for July’s Open at St Andrews with another appearance in the Irish PGA.

THE bookmakers rate him 1,000/1 and even his most ardent supporters in Kerry and Cork could hardly quibble with that. But David Higgins is quietly confident that he can make an impression in this week’s Open Championship, his self-belief soaring last night after he had completed his first full practice round over the Turnberry links.

Wexford's, Eamonn Boland and co-driver, Damien Morrissey (Subaru WRC) are on course to clinch the Irish Tarmac Championship.

Defending champion Joe Swail will take on Martin McCrudden in the first round of the Irish Professional Snooker Championship in Dublin next month.

Derry driver Eugene Donnelly and co-driver Paul Kiely have won the Shell Donegal International Rally for the second year in succession.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON has confirmed he will tee-up in the €127,000 PGA Irish Region Championship at St Margaret's, Dublin, on April 15 to 18.

DESPITE shooting 17 under par and finishing third on his own in the Mercedes Championship in Hawaii at the weekend, Darren Clarke has dropped from 11th to 12th in the world rankings.

PAUL McGINLEY walked off the Robert Trent Jones designed course at Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Course yesterday having shot a tidy three under par 69 in the Smurfit IPGA pro-am and described it as one of the finest he had ever played.

The Smurfit PGA Irish Region Championship continues its trip around the country with the news that this year's event will be played at the Adare Manor Golf Club in Co Limerick.

Seven stages totalling almost 60 miles stand between Mark Higgins/Craig Thorley and victory on the Manx International Rally.

Eamon Logue is the surprise overnight leader after the first round in the Smurfit PGA Irish Region Championship at Westport.

The Smurfit PGA Irish Region Championship will return to the West of Ireland this year for the first time since Darren Clarke won the event at Galway Bay in 1994.

Favourite Colin Montgomerie seeking his third win in the Irish Championship has gone to seven under par after 11 holes following an eagle three at the 10th and a birdie two and the 11th.