Hard luck to Ray Crotty, Brian Frawley and the whole Junior Cup squad who today lost to Castle Golf Club in the Leinster South semi-final. The whole squad put huge effort into the competition and have given us a few great days out this year.
We faced an extremely strong Castle team this afternoon and, even with the three match home advantage unfortunately it just wasn’t our day.
First out at home was Kenny Lewis who got off to a slow start, losing the first two holes, but who clawed his way back over the opening nine holes to go down the lane just one down. Losses on the tenth, to a par and on the twelfth followed and Kenny appeared to be in a bit of bother. The thirteenth and fourteenth holes were halved in pars and Kenny made a great birdie to win the fifteenth but unfortunately lost the sixteenth, and the match 3&2.
Alan Keane played second in Greystones and his was a tight match indeed. Alan and his opponent traded holes for the front nine, the lead changing the whole way but by the tenth tee Alan had nudged ahead by the odd hole. His opponent won the tenth and made a good two putt on the eleventh to win that also, Alan having missed the green long left. A win for Alan on twelve squared the match but only briefly as a loss on thirteen followed. Still just one down, Alan hit a great shot straight over the pin on the fourteenth to three feet and looked odds on to win the hole as his opponent was twenty feet away. As often happens, his opponent’s putt just stayed on the lip for a picky up par and Alan’s putt hit the hole but didn’t drop and the hole was halved. On Fifteen, Alan’s opposition hit a magnificent iron to ten feet below the hole for his third shot while Alan was just off the green on the left, also in three. Alan hit a beautiful chip shot to two feet and the Castle man raced his putt by, missed the one back and had to settle for a six. Alan now had a two footer for the win but it horse-shoed and the hole was halved and Alan remained one down. On sixteen, Alan missed the green left while his opponent was over the green and under the tree. Seldom do we see an up and down from under this tree but the Castle player scuffed a shot to three feet and held the putt while Alan didn’t get up and down – dormie two down.
As all this unfolded, Diarmaid MacGabhann was going about his normal, measured, winning ways. One down after one was the only time his was behind in the match as he played quality, solid golf shots against a strong opponent. One up through nine, Diarmaid lost ten but came back immediately on eleven by hitting a quality tee shot to the green after his opposition had found the greenside bunker off his tee shot. Twelve was halved in pars and Diarmaid won thirteen to go two up. Fourteen was again halved in Par and the pair teed off on fifteen with the Greystones man still two up.
In Castle Golf Club, our second man out, Jamie Anderson got off to a good start, halving the first but winning the second. From there to the seventh, consecutive holes were traded but a win on the eighth for Castle followed by a halved ninth gave the Castle player the advantage moving to the back nine. From there the Castle player moved to a different gear and wins on eleven, and three on the bounce from the thirteenth to the fifteenth closed the match off 5&3.
Our first man out in Castle, Ben Crowley was doing well. He was again in a very tight match but turned one up. Unfortunately he lost three holes between the tenth and thirteenth holes and found himself two down. Ben isn’t one to give up without a fight and he stuck at it gamely to win the fourteenth and fifteenth to square his match, but unfortunately lost the seventeenth to find himself dormie one down..
So….. two matches gone(Kenny & Jamie), Diarmaid two up playing fifteen, Ben dormie one down away and Alan dormie two down at home.
At home, Alan’s opponent hit a fantastic drive to 70 yards on the seventeenth while Alan found the fairway bunker. Alan’s bunker shot cleared the water and left him a nice chip to a middle pin. Needing only a half however, it appeared that the writing was on the wall but, inexplicably, the Castle man hit his approach shot over the green and almost to the eighteen tee-box. His tricky return pitch found the bunker and it was still his shot. To be fair, he then hit a fabulous bunker shot to three feet but it wasn’t enough to avoid Alan winning the hole with a par and the match moving to eighteen. On eighteen, Alan pulled his tee shot slightly but was still very much in play while Castle hit a big drive down the middle. As the players, caddies and large viewing gallery moved off the tee-box however, the word came through from Castle that Ben had halved eighteen to lose his match one down and the tie.
Hard luck to Brain, Ray and the whole squad, a really great effort.
