Huge congratulations to Padraig Croke, Pat O’Neill and their JB Carr team who finished the job off tonight with an incredibly exciting second leg in the Wicklow final of the competition.
The team headed to Druid’s Heath with a slender 3-2 advantage after the first leg which was played in Greystones last Monday.
Padraig and Pat elected to go with the same team with the exception of Barry O’Leary who was injured. Barry was replaced by the very capable Michael Keating. Druid’s Heath, in contrast arrived on the teebox with six new players for the second leg.
Out first for Greystones were Paul Keane and Gerry Browner who played very well this evening and took their match by the scruff in the middle of the round, winning eight, nine, ten and eleven to go into a three hole lead. The pair played smart golf from there in to maintain their advantage and a win on the fifteenth giving Greystones a 4&3 match point.
Also going like a train were our fourth pair out, Colm Mulcahy and Robert Clarke who were five up after nine and only lost a single hole (the twelfth) in their match before closing it at 6&5 on the thirteenth.
2-0 on the night and 5-2 on aggregate.
So we just needed one more match ….]
Our third pairing this evening were David Kirby and Martin McNulty. The lads played well but got off to a slowish start and found themselves three down after three. They knuckled down and were one up after seven after a great run and were unlucky on the ninth when their opposition held a long range putt to win the hole and square the match. The back nine started as the first had unfortunately, and David and Martin found themselves three down once again by the thirteenth tee box but now with only six holes to recover. As it panned out, a Greystones win on the fifteenth only stalled the Druid’s Heath victory which was won on the seventeenth, 3&1.
Our first pair out was Martin Nolan and David O’Toole who were playing a lot better than they had on Monday evening but were in a tough tough match. Holes were being halved in pars and there was little room for error. The lads lost nine to turn one down and another loss on the par three eleventh, after a fantastic Druid’s Heath tee shot had them at two down. Martin’s approach to eight feet on thirteen was enough for a win on the hole but this was handed straight back on the par three fourteenth. Two down with four to play, Martin and David were unrelenting and won fifteen and eighteen without reply to take the match to sudden death.
The only new pair on the team, Tom Sheehy and Michael Keating were out last this evening. They got off to a good start and were three up through four. The Greystones pair were finding the greens tough and their opponents started finding their putting shoes and began holing everything. Three up after four quickly became one down through eight and it took a good win on the ninth to get it to all square after the front nine. Ten also went to Greystones but the eleventh once again proved to be tricky for the visitors and went to Druids. Twelve was halved and the very difficult par four, thirteenth was also lost to par. Michael held a 5 foot clutch putt on fourteen for a half and on fifteen both pairs played it well to secure another half. Sixteen might prove crucial as Greystones were getting a shot. Tom and Michael both hit excellent drives and Tom’s second shot came up just short of the green. Michael elected to putt and Tom then lagged his putt to an inch for the win. All square heading to seventeen which was halved after an incredible up and down from Michael & Tom. Michael was buried in the rough on the right hand side on the green after Tom’s approach shot took a bad bounce. Only Michael knows how he got the ball out, not to mind how he got it to stop on the green and Tom completed the job by holing the twelve footer for the half.
At this stage word came through that Martin and David had halved nineteen and were heading to the twentieth.
Michael’s drive on eighteen went right and looked like it was heading for deep rough, Tom followed Michael right but it was clear that his ball was not to be found. The first Druid’s player played a drive to just short of the fairway bunkers and his partner then took the Tiger line and nailed his drive way past the bunkers, leaving less than a hundred yards to the elevated green. The Greystones supporters anxiously walked the rough to try to find Michael’s ball and when one of the Druid’s men found it, it looked like a mixed blessing. The ball was absolutely buried and it looked like Tom was faced with an impossible shot. Tom threw both legs at it and extracted the ball from the rough and across the fairway – a fantastic recovery, and then Michael hit a magnificent hybrid to ten feet.
So we are on the green in three and on the correct level while Druid’s are about to play their second from a hundred yards and the word was that Martin and David are in a bit of bother on the twentieth – playoff holes beckon !!
Back on eighteen, the Druid’s player was perhaps a little too close to the green and duffed his approach. His partner then boned the next shot which ran through the green and down a hollow. Both teams were now on the green but Greystones were on the green as word came through that Martin and David had lost on twenty.
On eighteen the Druids’ player chipped and almost hit the hole, but didn’t and ran to fifteen feet. Tom hit a great downhill putt to four feet past the hole and when Druid’s missed their putt it fell to Michael to hit a pennant winning putt. Michael took his time over the putt and calmly slotted it home to close the match and the tie and the Wicklow title.
Well done to all involved and many thanks to Druid’s Heath for their hospitality and the sporting manner that the final was played in.
