Offaly golfer pipped at post for Order of Merit award despite great Scratch Cup win
Rahan woman showed great character with Scratch Cup win after Irish Open ordeal
A VERY promising up and coming Offaly golfer was pipped at the post for the Bridestone Womens' Order of Merit title when the 2026 Irish golfing season concluded recently.
Rahan woman Ella Cantwell had a great win in the Dun Laoghaire Golf Club Scratch Cup in the last counting eventy of the season but it was not enough as the Order of Merit winner Lee McNamara finished runner up – McNamara has plenty of Offaly blood as her father Ronan is from Banagher and won an All-Ireland minor hurling medal with the county in 1989.
The Scratch Cup provided a dramatic finale to the season.
In an incredibly tight campaign, five different players held the lead in the Women’s Order of Merit, with Lee-McNamara eventually edging out Ella Cantwell (Esker Hills) by just two points – Cantwell held the lead just a few weeks ago but was overhauled by McNamara.
Lee-McNamara began her campaign with a sixth-place finish at the Flogas Irish Women’s Amateur Open Championship, putting herself just outside the top 10 in the early stages of the season.
A tied second-place finish at the West of Ireland Women’s Amateur Open Championship immediately put her in contention, as Lee-McNamara climbed inside the top three.
Further gains came at the North of Ireland Women’s Amateur Open, where she finished tied third, before she finally took the lead following a run to the final of the AIG Irish Women’s Amateur Close Championship in July.
That runner-up finish earned Lee-McNamara 250 points, moving her from fifth to first and leaving just one event remaining on the calendar.
Lee-McNamara came into the Dun Laoghaire Scratch Cup with a slender 32-point advantage over Cantwell. Despite finishing as runner-up to the Esker Hills golfer at the Dublin venue, her second-place finish was enough to clinch the Order of Merit title by just two points, with a winning total of 1,065 points.
Cantwell enjoyed a remarkable season of her own, which included wins at the Dun Laoghaire Scratch Cup and the inaugural West of Ireland Women’s Amateur Open, but ultimately had to settle for second place.
Shannon Burke (Ballinrobe), Olivia Costello (Roscommon) and Aideen Walsh (Lahinch) rounded out the top five.
The Scratch Cup win was a real test of character for Cantwell, who bounced back after a difficult experience in the KPMG Womens' Irish Open at the K Club at the end of August. Delighted to be invited to compete as an amateur in a strong professional field, Cantwell crashed out after two rounds on 19 over par, at the bottom of the leaderboard in 131st position.
She fought hard and started her first round with a birdie three on the first but followed up with two bogeys and two double bogeys on the front nine. She had a double bogey six on the 11th and the wheels came off late on as she finished her final five holes with two bogeys each side of a double bogey for a +13 85.
That meant the cut mark was out of reach for her but Cantwell dug deep on the Friday and bowed out with her head held high with a +6 78 – her round included a great eagle 3 on the 9th, two double bogeys and four bogeys but it was a great learning experience for Cantwell who is very young and is doing her Leaving Certificate in Killina Presentation Secondary School in 2027.
With the course set up tough for professionals, it was no surprise that it would be a big step up for Cantwell and she showed her real colours in Dun Laoighre when competing against other amateurs in her own class. She has already secured a golf scholarship to a college in Texas and will be travelling there after competing her Leaving Certificate. In the mean time, she can reflect with pride on a tremendous 2026 season in which she won one of Ireland's amateur golfing “majors”, competed at international level and showed the great potential she possesses.