The long awaited away leg of the Fitzgibbon V Powerscourt tie took place this morning, at the third time of asking. No rain for a change but conditions were very windy and very cold. Powerscourt held a 2 : 1 lead after the Greystones matches played earlier in the month.
Assistant manager, Eddie Lonergan took charge of the team as the manager, Colm Mulcahy, was once again paired with Liam Moulton in the second match of the day. Our first pair today was Collie Dunne & Stephen Bourne and our final pairing saw Peter Anderson partnered with Toby Murphy.
Collie & Stephen lost the first hole to a par but a great shot from Collie into the par 3 second meant a win without the need to putt. Holes three to six were halved however on the fourth the pair had a good chance to go ahead after a great drive from Stephen left Collie 45 yards to the pin. Collie hit his approach to 8 feet and Stephen’s putt grazed the hole for birdie. Collie needed to hole a solid 4 footer back to secure the half. A win on the seventh got their noses in front for the first time in the match but it took a great second shot on the dangerous par 4 ninth from Collie after being out of position of the tee to hit a par and half the hole. One up at the turn….
The back nine began as the first had, with a win for the home team after Stephen hit an uncharacteristically errant approach shot and, after the eleventh was halved in pars the Powerscourt pair went back ahead with a win on the twelfth. Both pairs played solid golf to share, thirteen and fourteen and on the tight fifteenth Collie & Stephen made a great half after being out of position off the tee. The normally tough par 5, sixteenth was today played as a long par three. The hole was won in par by Greystones and the match was once again back to all square heading to the par 3, seventeenth.
Out number two were Liam Moulton & Colm Mulcahy. Against Killiney this pair had faced Mr. Titleist ( Keith Bardon ) and today by coincidence they faced Barry Nestor from the Wilson Staff parish. A birdie on the first after a great chip from Liam had them in front straight away but on the par 3 second Colm’s tee shot went right and was lucky not to find the water, back to all square. From there it looked like it might end in tears, with further losses on the third, fourth and fifth. Another good chip from Liam from the edge of the sixth steadied the ship and the pair followed up with a win on the seventh. Light at the end of the tunnel perhaps, but not if Powerscourt had anything to do with it and they immediately restored their three hole lead with a win on the eighth. From here however Liam & Colm hit the pro button and and wins on the ninth & tenth where both players hit excellent approach shots to the green, were followed with a half on the eleventh where both pairs made par. Another win on the twelfth, despite a visit to the greenside bunker restored the momentum and got the match back to all square. After having such a commanding lead the Powerscourt pair struggled a bit and our men took full advantage winning thirteen, fourteen and fifteen. On the par 3, sixteenth Colm’s drive missed the green well left in the rough while Powerscourt were just off the right and with a straightforward chip shot to the pin. Liam hit a brilliant chip (one of many he hit today) and Colm held the putt for a great par and a great comeback victory by a margin of 4&2.
Back on the seventeenth, Stephen played a good shot but the wind held it up and it came up short. Powerscourt found themselves short right and with a difficult chip. In the end Greystones made a good four which was enough to go one up with one to play. Both pairs missed the eighteenth fairway right off the tee and found themselves a little hindered by trees for their second shots. It was the home team to play first and they clipped a tree and found the water. If only we had someone with some European Tour caddying experience !! there was absolutely NO WAY that Collie was going to have Stephen take the direct route to the green and Collie directed his partner to play the percentage shot up towards Powerscourt House. Powerscourt took a drop and hit a quite brilliant shot to twelve feet to set themselves up with a par putt. Collie played a great approach pin high on the right hand fringe of the green, again keeping away from all the trouble. Stephen played a deft chip to four feet and looked on as Powerscourt slotted their putt for an excellent par. It now fell on Collie’s shoulders to hold his nerve to win the point. Never a doubt… a second point for Greystones.
Our final pair today were Peter Anderson & Toby Murphy who, along with their opponents gave us the golf of the day. The first was halved and Pete hit a high quality shot to the second to go one up without having to putt. To give an indication of the wind in Powerscourt today, Toby hit a full three wood to the long par 4 fourth after a good drive from Pete to set up another win to go to two up. The fifth was down wind and Toby hit a good drive which found the rough before his Powerscourt opponent unleashed a massive drive which ended about 5 feet from the green. Even with this advantage on the hole it was a missed four foot putt which cost us the hole. Back to one up. Six and seven were halved in par before another win on eight restored our two hole advantage. Powerscourt hit the ninth in two and we were off the green to the right but with a mound in our way. Toby expected his chip to run out towards the hole but it held up and five was not enough to get anything from the hole. Pete’s drive off ten went right and Toby was faced with a blind approach shot over trees and from some considerable way out. He hit an unbelievable 4 iron to the green, still leaving a putt that the local spectators considered practically impossible to two putt. Pete hit a beautifully weighted putt to three feet and Toby knocked this in for a very unexpected win. Both pairs hit the eleventh but were above the hole. Pete hit another great putt to picky up distance while to local pair could only manage to get their first putt to eight feet. The hole was halved in pars however after they held the return putt. Two up with eight to play. Powercourt birdied twelve to cut the lead to one and got the match back to all square with another win on the thirteenth. Fourteen and fifteen were halved with pars and after a great shot by Pete into the sixteenth, Toby left him a little too much to do after his putt ran out leaving a breaking four footer. Hole halved in bogey fours. The Powerscourt player hit an iron to the seventeenth which was cutty and was caught by the wind to miss short right, narrowly missing the bunker, but leaving a shot over it to the pin. Toby’s shot found the putting surface 25 feet above the hole on the left of the green leaving a tough two putt once again. The home team played a good shot to perhaps ten feet. Pete hit a good putt which just ran on to 5 feet past the hole but better putting back up the green than leaving another down hill slider. Having missed their par putt but in for four the Powerscourt pair watched Toby calmly slot home his putt to go one up with one to play. Both pairs played the par five eighteenth well, both hitting the green in regulation with Pete holing a four footer for par and for the match. Three nil to Greystones on the day.
Final overall score over the two legs:
Greystones 4 ( 8 points )
Powerscourt 2 ( 4 points )
Many congratulations to all involved….
