Mixed bag for teams this weekend.
On Saturday Gavan McGirr & Pete Murray’s Jimmy Bruen team were playing in the Leinster South semi final with a tough fixture against Woodbrook. We had three away matches and unfortunately our first home pairing of David Kirby & Jamie Anderson, who have been performing so well over the campaign didn’t fire yesterday. They turned three down and lost (for the first time this year) 6&5. Our second home pair of Eugene Strong and our Leinster Under 14 Inter Pro representative player, Toby Murphy fared far better. They turned four up and finished out their match winning by a margin of 5&4.
Crucially we had lost one home match and our away matches were now under pressure. First out in Woodbrook were Walter Gilbert and Craig McCormack. Walter and Craig started well, going into a three hole lead after just three holes but had been pegged back to be just one up after the front nine. Wins on ten and eleven restored their cushion but it took a good win on the par 3, seventeenth for them to close the match 3&1. Our third pair out of Colm Mulcahy & Ed Davis were two up through the front nine but fell away on the back nine, loosing the first four holes on the back nine and then loosing fifteen & sixteen to lose the match 4&2. It all came down to our final away match which featured Keith Lewis & John Egan. Our lads got off to a similar start as had Craig & Walter: three up through three and they turned two up. The back nine wasn’t kind to us on Saturday however. Our two hole advantage had been eroded and turned to a one hole deficit by the fourteenth, which was halved. We won the fifteenth to get the match back to all square but losses on par 5 sixteenth and par 3 seventeenth saw the match finish in favour of Woodbrook 2&1 and the tie go to Woodbrook 3:2.
Hard luck to Gavan, Pete and all the players who worked so hard as part of this panel over recent months.
On Sunday our first team out were the Irish Mixed. As with the Bruen they had three matches away, this time to Milltown. Managers Frank & Ciara Marmion had to make a forced change on Sunday morning when Eddie Lonergan was forced to withdraw due to injury. Eddie and his partner Aine O’rourke were replaced by Frank Marmion & Amanda Lawless.
Our home pairings of David Byrne & Lisa Croke and Adam Packman & Liz-Anne Woollam played great and delivered our two home points. David & Lisa were two down after two and were still one down after nine holes before they raised their game one more notch early on the back nine to take back control and a win with a par on the sixteenth was enough for a 3&2 victory. The unflappable Adam Packman and recent hole-in-oner Liz-Anne were four up through six holes and, despite a fightback from their opposition on the back nine they ran out 4&3 winners.
Our three away pairs of Chris Boylan & Nicky Brooks, Diarmaid MacGabhann & Ger O’Shea and Frank Marmion & Amanda Lawless all found themselves trailing their opposition after completing the front nine holes. Frank & Amanda found themselves three down after eleven holes and,despite their very best efforts they were never able to wrestle the lead away from their opposing pair. They were dormie three down and could only halve the sixteenth to lose the match 3&2. Chris & Nicky were two down after nine and four down by the time they had played the thriteenth. They fought back with consecutive wins on the fourteenth and fifteenth but they found themselves dormie after sixteen and lost the seventeenth to lose the match 3&1. Two points all …..
It all came down to Diarmaid & Ger who got their match back to all square after fourteen but lost the fifteenth and sixteenth to be dormie two down. A half was all needed on the seventeenth by Milltown to secure their win and the match. Diarmaid hit a fine chip on the seventeenth to twelve feet while Milltown found themselves forty feet from the pin. After the Milltown player hit a great putt to two and a half feet Ger faced a twelve footer to win the hole and to stay in the match. Ger’s putt was struck well but slipped agonisingly by the hole before Milltown held their bogey putt for a half, a match win and the tie by 3:2.
Hard luck to Ciara & Frank and the whole Irish Mixed squad.
Our final match out this weekend was our ladies Challenge Cup team who played Powerscourt this afternoon. We had three matches at home today and manager Iris selected an excellent team to capitalise on this advantage. Grace Dodd, who played in second spot at home stormed into an early lead, three up after three, and never gave her opponent a chance to catch her breath from there on, winning 7&6 – an early point for Greystones.
The remaining matches were altogether much tighter affairs.
Anne Browner, first out at home, found herself two down after the front nine but settled down on the back nine and had reversed things by the sixteenth to be one up.
Our final home player was Orla Rush who was three up at the halfway point after some great play but losses on the tenth, fourteenth and the sixteenth squared the match and it took all Orla’s resilience to stay focused, which she did, winning the seventeenth and then holding her nerve on the eighteenth to secure a half and a second point for the team.
Meanwhile, away from home in Powerscourt Wendy Lee was out first flying the Greystones flag. Wendy played great and was one up after nine. On the back nine she stuck with her opponent, never giving up on any hole and wins on the thirteenth and the notorious par three, seventeenth were enough to win 3&1 and secure the tie for Greystones.
Our final player out in Powerscourt was Regina Connaughton who struggled on the large undulating greens in Powerscourt and was three down after nine. Regina was up against a a very strong player and, despite a spirited fightback on the back nine she unfortunately lost 3&2.
Anne unluckily lost the eighteenth and was heading for the nineteenth to settle the match when called in.
Well done to Iris Haughton and all the squad.
