Peter O’Keeffe moved to the top of the Bridgestone Order of Merit with just one event remaining when he closed with rounds of 66 and 73 to retain the Munster Strokeplay Championship at Cork Golf Club.

Winner of the AIG Irish Close title earlier this summer, the Douglas golfer finished three shots clear of Castle’s Robert Moran on 12-under par.

One clear overnight after rounds of 66 and 71, O’Keeffe equalled the low round of the morning, posting a six-under 66 to lead by three shots from Moran, who shot 68, on 13-under par.

South of Ireland champion TJ Ford was six-under and Carton House’s Marc Boucher five-under also after a 66.

In the final round, O’Keeffe birdied the second and third, then followed a bogey at the fourth with an eagle at the fifth to extend his lead to five shots.

He would find closing tough as he double-bogeyed the sixth, then mixed three birdies with five bogeys over the last 12 holes, signing for a 73 which was enough for a three-shot victory over Moran with the ultra-consistent Ford third on seven-under.

”Every win is different and I found this one difficult for some reason,” O’Keeffe said. “It was a tricky afternoon and there were some hard holes coming in but I love this golf course and it suits me down to the ground. I’ve a really nice feel for the greens here as well.” 

The win is O’Keeffe’s third of the 2021 season having claimed the AIG Irish Men’s Amateur Close during the summer, the Douglas Scratch Cup as well as winning the Men’s Home Internationals with Ireland.

He puts his success down to a change in attitude.

“I’ve a much more relaxed approach to golf now I suppose. My life is much busier now and I don’t get time to practice. My expectations are fairly high when I show up and my confidence is going up with it so yeah a more relaxed approach seems to be working for me.”

O’Keeffe has taken pride in playing the role of inspiring the next generation at Douglas Golf Club, playing the final 36 holes in the final group alongside his 15-year-old clubmate Jack Murphy.

“I love it. I get just as much of a kick from Jack doing well as winning and if he had won today I would have loved that as well,” he said. “And he will go on and win, he’s an absolutely fantastic player, for a 15-year-old his attitude is unbelievably mature. I love working with the kids in the club and we have a great culture there, it’s important to keep driving it on from the front.”

O’Keeffe will lead the Bridgestone Order of Merit heading into the final event at the Flogas Irish Men’s Amateur Open at the European Club in two weeks where he hopes the conditions will favour him.

‘I’ve done well there in the past but I’m hoping it’s windy,” he said. “The windier the better and we’ll see how we go.”

Bridgestone Order of Merit after Munster Strokeplay

1. O' KEEFFE, Peter Douglas Golf Club 6 648

2. FORD, T J Co. Sligo Golf Club 6 585

3. MAGUIRE, Alex Laytown & Bettystown GC 5 573

4. MORAN, Robert Castle Golf Club 4 517

5. FOLEY, Hugh Royal Dublin Golf Club 4 474

6. NOLAN, Liam Galway Golf Club 5 402

7. MCDONNELL, Jack Forrest Little Golf Club 8 372

8. KITT, David Athenry Golf Club 7 365

9. COUGHLAN, Paul Castleknock Golf Club 7 346

10. MCCLEAN, Matthew Malone Golf Club 5 300

Munster Strokepay Championship, Cork Golf Club (Par 72)

October 2-3, 2021

Detailed scores

276 Peter O’Keeffe (Douglas) 66 71 66 73;

279 Robert Moran (Castle) 67 71 68 73;

281 TJ Ford (Co. Sligo) 70 72 68 71;

283 Marc Boucher (Carton House) 71 74 66 72; Jack Murphy (Douglas) 70 68 73 72';

284 Hugh Foley (Royal Dublin) 68 70 74 72;

286 Robert Abernethy (Dun Laoghaire) 71 68 73 74; Ian O’Rourke (Cork) 70 72 71 73;

287 Robert Brazill (Naas) 72 72 67 76; David Kitt (Athenry) 71 73 73 70; Allan Hill (Athenry) 68 70 73 76; Eanna Griffin (Waterford) 66 74 71 76;

288 Liam Nolan (Galway) 71 74 72 71; Sean Flanagan (Portmarnock) 70 74 72 72; Eoin Murphy (Dundalk) 69 72 73 74;

289 James Fox (Portmarnock) 69 71 76 73; Jason Law (East Cork) 69 71 73 76;

290 AJ McCabe (The Links Portmarnock) 71 71 74 74;

291 Aaron Ryan (Thurles) 73 74 71 73;

292 Paul Coughlan (Castleknock) 75 72 74 71; Shane McDermott (Slieve Russell) 68 74 75 75;

293 Mel Deasy (Douglas) 71 73 71 78, Ian Bohane (Lee Valley) 68 76 75 74;

294 Conor Hickey (Dooks) 72 75 74 73; Patrick Keeling (Roganstown) 72 72 78 72;

295 Aaron Marshall (Lisburn) 74 73 72 76; Charlie Kelly (Athlone) 73 72 75 75;

296 Jack Blake (The Island) 75 71 74 76; James Mitten (Westmanstown) 70 77 76 73; Tom Dowdall (Woodbrook) 70 72 74 80;

297 Ian Lynch (Rosslare) 71 73 78 75;

298 Keith Egan (Carton House) 70 75 76 77; Jordan Boles (Charleville) 68 75 71 84;

299 Harry Gillivan (Westport) 74 73 73 79; Simon Walker (Roscommon) 73 72 76 78; Jack McDonnell (Forrest Little) 72 75 80 72; Colm Campbell Jnr (Warrenpoint) 71 74 77 77;

300 Michael Shiel (Galway Bay) 71 76 74 79;

301 Gary O’Flaherty (Cork) 73 72 82 74;

303 Evan Shipp (Headfort) 71 76 78 78;

RTD Joe Lyons (Galway) 74 73 84 RTD

Missed Cut

148 Eoghan Cassidy (Kinsale) 76 72; Gary Ward (Kinsale) 75 73; Karl Bornemann (Douglas) 74 74;

149 Jake Whelan (Grange) 76 73; Darren McCormack (Corrstown) 72 77; Paraic Connolly (The Links Portmarnock) 72 77; Shane Irwin (Killeen) 72 77;

150 Andrew Hickey (Galway Bay) 73 77;

151 Sean Desmond (Monkstown) 78 73; David Reddan Jnr (Nenagh) 75 76; Stephen Cunningham (Esker Hills) 73 78;

152 Cathal Butler (Kinsale) 76 76;

153 Ryan O’Doherty (Enniscrone) 79 74; Paul Tobin (Douglas) 77 76; Cathal Nolan (Portmarnock) 74 79;

154 Sean Dowling (The Island) 75 79;

155 Padraig O’Connor (Macroom) 76 79;

156 Morgan Cain (Cork) 78 78;

158 Thomas Plunkett (Crover House) 80 78;

159 Jake Foley (Elm Park) 80 79; Sean Keeling (Roganstown) 77 82;

165 Annraoi Collins (Laytown & Bettystown) 78 87;

Rtd Ronan Hynes (Oughterard) 76 Rtd; Jason Rackard (Enniscorthy) 75 Rtd; Richard Knightly (Royal Dublin) 77 Rtd.