Dermot McElroy hopes to celebrate his call-up to the St Andrews Trophy squad by challenging for his first amateur major when the Radisson Blu-sponsored West of Ireland Amateur Open gets under way at Rosses Point today.

UCC’s Ian O’Rourke smashed the men’s course record at Strandhill Golf Club with a dazzling eight-under-par 62 to coast to victory in the second event in the Intervarsity Series.

Today’s Barton Shield final at Kinsale Golf Club promises to be a classic battle between youth and experience as the young guns of NUI Maynooth vie with Banbridge for an All-Ireland title at the Chartis-sponsored Cups & Shields National Finals.

A 29-year-old man was shot near his sister’s house by a lone attacker, an inquest heard yesterday.

The 2012 cups and shields get off to flying start at Kinsale Golf Club today with the Barton Shield semi-finals.

Rathmore’s Alan Dunbar leads a strong Irish contingent looking to score a home victory against a stacked international field at Carton House this week for the International European Amateur Championship.

Brilliantly led from the front by Kevin Phelan, Munster got their Interprovincial Championship campaign off to the best possible start when beating holders Connacht with two matches to spare at Royal Co Down yesterday.

Connacht, who bridged a 28 year gap when capturing the title at Rosses Point last year, begin their defence of the Interprovincial Championship this morning with a difficult match against Munster at Royal Co Down.

The Irish duo of Shane Lowry and Peter Lawrie are now fighting for one of the last remaining places into next week’s British Open after posting similar scores for similar second round totals in the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart.

Seven Irish players contest this week’s Scottish Open but while Pádraig Harrington will tee up on the acclaimed Castle Stuart course to the east of Inverness with the comfort of a British Open tee time, it won’t be the same for six others.

Stephen Healy (Claremorris) will represent the home province on the final day of the Radisson Blu-sponsored West of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at Rosses Point today after a clear-cut 4 and 3 triumph over Nicholas Grant (Knock) in their quarter-final yesterday.

Local teenager Sean Flanagan is still on track to claim the Co Sligo club’s first West of Ireland Amateur Open Championship since 1950 following his terrific showing in yesterday’s two matchplay rounds at Rosses Point.

The traditional first big event on the domestic annual calendar, the Radisson sponsored West of Ireland Championship, gets underway today with the first of two stroke-play qualifying rounds leading up to the final on Tuesday next.

A DISASTROUS result in the morning foursomes against Scotland cost Ireland dearly on the final day of the Home International Championship at Rosses Point yesterday.

IRELAND’S victory over Wales at County Sligo’s Rosses Point yesterday lacked the nail-biting tension of the previous day’s narrow defeat of England but it still put them very much in prime position to win the Home Nations Championship when they come up against Scotland in today’s final round of matches.

NIALL GOREY of Muskerry was the Irish hero as the host nation pipped reigning champions England in a dramatic climax on the first day of the Men’s Home Internationals at a wet and windy Rosses Point yesterday.

INSPIRED by the exploits of Pádraig Harrington, Ireland won the Home International Championship when it was last staged at Rosses Point in 1991.

CONNACHT joy knew no bounds at Rosses Point yesterday when they staged a remarkable recovery to force a tie with Leinster and capture the Interprovincial Championship for only the third time.

CONNACHT yesterday played themselves into a strong position to win the Men’s Interprovincial Championship for the first time since 1983 when they pipped Munster in a cliff hanger at Rosses Point.

LIMERICK’S Pat Murray is hoping to find a “spark” at Baltray today that might light up his challenge for the East of Ireland title.

THE GUI have strayed from the straight and narrow for the first time in the event’s 118-year history by changing the format of the Golfsure-sponsored Irish Amateur Close Championship from matchplay to strokeplay for the next two years.

BANDON’S dreams of a famous double have been shattered by yesterday’s narrow loss to Dunmurry in the semi-final of the Bulmers Barton Shield at Castlebar. So now, they switch their attentions to the Irish Senior Cup, in which they meet Co Sligo in tomorrow’s semi-finals.

DONIE O’DONOVAN from Bandon and Kevin Byrne of East Cork intend to make little of the oft-expressed modern contention that golf is a young man’s game when they line out for their clubs in the semi-finals of the Bulmers Barton Shield and Irish Junior Cup at Castlebar today.

CIAN CURLEY took his first major step on the road to success in the paid ranks when he returned a ‘professional’ level par 72 in the final round to win the East of Ireland Amateur Open by two strokes at windy Baltray.

THEY say the weather alters one’s mood but the momentous change in the conditions at Baltray over the weekend didn’t seem to bother Newlands’ Cian Curley as he opened a commanding four-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the East of Ireland Amateur Open Championship.

SUCH are the twists and turns of life that unheralded Skerries teenager Jeff Hopkins could easily be playing at centre half for the likes of Liverpool or Blackburn Rovers. Instead, a series of chronic injuries ended his dreams of a professional soccer career when he was just 14 years old.

AFTER finishing runner-up in four previous championships, Rory Leonard finally won the big one when he lifted the Radisson-Blu West of Ireland trophy at Rosses Point yesterday.

THE greater experience of a well-balanced Galway team proved just too much for the West Waterford youngsters in Saturday’s final of the Bulmers Irish Senior Cup at Tullamore.

A WEST WATERFORD team with an average age of 20 is on the threshold of a historic and remarkable break through in the Bulmers Irish Senior Cup at Tullamore.

WEST WATERFORD’S chances of a first Bulmers Irish Senior Cup pennant at Tullamore over the weekend have taken a big blow because of the absence of key man Seamus Power.

THE finals of the Bulmers Irish Cups and Shields got off to a successful start in ideal conditions at Tullamore yesterday when Banbridge and Kilkenny produced golf of the highest calibre to qualify for today’s final of the Bulmers Barton Shield.

Esker Hills' Shane Lowry claimed the West of Ireland Championship with a 2 and 1 win over Mullingar's Dessie Morgan at Rosses Point.

Irish Close champion Shane Lowry beat the Castle's Ryan Boal at the 20th to clinch his place in Wednesday's West of Ireland Championship semi-finals at Rosses Point.

Limerick's Pat Murray fired a three under par 69 to share the first round lead in the East of Ireland Amateur Championship at Baltray.

Rory McIlroy shrugged off some putting problems to cruise into the last 16 of the Radisson-SAS West of Ireland Championship at Rosses Point.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy struggled to a four-over par 75 as Co Louth's Simon Ward led the qualifiers in the Radisson-SAS West of Ireland Amateur Open.

IN his earlier incarnation, Tom Nolan knew about the intensity of playing top level inter-county hurling at senior, U21 and minor levels.

Galway overcame Knock at Enniscrone Golf Club to win the Senior Cup today.

CORK’S hopes of achieving an historic golfing double were dashed yesterday when they lost to Knock in the most dramatic of circumstances in the semi-final of the Bulmers Irish Senior Cup.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy has set his sights on Tiger Woods' course record in the Irish Close at the European Club.

Rory McIlroy (Holywood), ranked fifth in the world amateur golf rankings, will defend the Golfsure-sponsored Irish Amateur Close Championship at The European Club from June 10 to 14.

A BITTERLY disappointing week for sport in the west worsened still further yesterday with Galway Golf Club’s defeat by North West in the semi-final of the Bulmers Irish Senior Cup.

GALWAY’S dream of an unprecedented hat-trick at the Bulmers inter-club festival of golf was shattered at Rosslare yesterday when they lost in agonising fashion in the finals of both the Barton Shield and Irish Junior Cup.

GALWAY’S golfers are all set to atone for the defeat of their hurlers by Cork in Sunday’s All-Ireland final following a fruitful opening day in the Bulmers inter-club festival at Rosslare.