Quinlan and Kearney claim the spoils at Portmarnock Links

SQ Golf’s Steven Quinlan

Steven Quinlan might have finished with a double-bogey six, but he still shot a one-under-par 70 to win the nett in the TaylorMade Winter Series at Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links.

Just 29 players teed it up as many feared what turned out to be an inaccurate weather forecast, but scoring was still far from easy in the rain and a testing southerly breeze.

Second last week, Quinlan went to the turn in one-under-par as combined eight pars with a birdie at the par-five sixth.

He got to three-under thanks to birdies at the 10th and 13th but took six at the last when he drove into a fairway bunker and compounded that mistake with two more errors.

Challenge Tour professional Niall Kearney shot a level par 71 to win the gross despite starting with a bogey five.

The Royal Dublin man birdied the sixth to get back to level par and played the back nine in level par. He birdied the 14th to get to one-under but gave that shot back at the difficult, par-three 17th where he missed the green short and right and failed to get up and down for the first time all day.

The timesheets are now open for next week’s event and the Senior and Junior Scratch Cups in April and May.

• Senior Scratch Cup (3 handicap & below), Friday 17 April

• Junior Scratch Cup (4– 9 handicap), Friday 8 May

• Call 01 8666592

TaylorMade Winter Series, Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links (Par 71, SSS 75, CSS 75)

• Nett: Steven Quinlan (Pro) SQ Golf 70

• Gross: Niall Kearney (Pro) Royal Dublin 71