Hard luck to Karl Holmes and his Senior Cup team who came off just second best to a strong Castle team in the semi-final of the Leinster South competition this morning.
Some last minute changes to the team with David Byrne and Adam Packman both being unavailable due to injury while Darren McCormack had only just returned from holiday, presented Karl with a dilemma but also with an opportunity to give experience to other players.
The five matches were played in Blainroe which was in great condition today.
First out this morning was Toby Murphy, his first foray at this level. Toby, playing off 2.7, was pitched against the number one player from Castle, Rob Moran. Rob, who is on the Walker Cup panel, is currently playing off +4.6. The first in Blainroe is a 355 yard par four and the Castle man, who had the honour, drove the green with the ball coming to rest eight feet from the pin. Toby’s drive found the trees to the left and he had to hit out sideways, taking four to get to the green via a green side bunker. Needless to say , the hole went to Castle but while many players might capitulate under such circumstances, Toby is made of sterner stuff and he, with his caddie, Adam Packman, settled down to play some excellent golf for the remainder of his round. The next seven holes were halved and Toby made a great birdie on the ninth to win the hole and get the match back to all square at the halfway point on the course. On the back nine, Toby lost three in succession from the eleventh where his opponent’s experience of flighting wedge shots into the wind came to the fore. Another birdie on the fourteenth got a hole back for Toby, two down with four to play. The par three fourteenth was playing into wind today and Toby found the green side bunker while the Castle player found the green, finishing ten feet from the hole. It looked like it would be dormie but a brilliant up and down from the bunker kept the score at two down, now with three to play. Unfortunately fifteen went to Castle and they got the first point of the day, 3&2. This was a brilliant performance by fifteen year old Toby however and one that he should be proud of.
Shane O’Connor was out next and in good form from the off, splitting the first fairway leaving himself a hundred yards in. The hole was halved in pars as was the second. Three and four went to Castle but Shane was playing very well and wins on the fifth and the seventh, where his opponent hit his drive OB, had the match level. On eight, caddy Brian Frawley and Shane wasted no time in deciding on what club to hit and then Shane hit a fantastic shot with his hybrid to fifteen feet while his opponent was way left, on the path, behind a line of trees and facing what looked like an impossible shot to even find the green. At this level however you count your chickens at your peril and, after Castle made a miraculous up and down, Shane had to hole a three footer to secure the half. Nine was also halved and and the match turned all square.
Dylan Holmes, with Alan Keane pulling the bag, was in the third match and got off to a fine start, winning the first two holes and the third to take a three hole lead. It was poor club selection rather than bad shots that caused Dylan to lose the par five, fifth, and it was a similar story on the next two holes with the match back to level by the eighth tee box. The long par three, eighth hole was playing very difficult today with a strong cross wind. The well struck, Castle tee shot looked all over the flag in the air but rolled through the green while Dylan’s missed the green right, leaving himself short sided with a bunker guarding the green. Dylan didn’t manage to get up and down and went behind for the first time in the match. A good par for Dylan on the ninth was enough to win the hole with his opponent missing a short putt to half the hole and, as with Shane’s match, the game was all square heading into the back nine.
Junior Boy’s Captain, Jamie Anderson was out fourth for Greystones this morning with the experienced David Kirby on the bag. Jamie didn’t get the start he might have wished for, hitting the ninth fairway with his first tee shot but was far enough left to have a clear shot to the green and was able to make par to halve the hole. The second and fifth were lost but Jamie came back immediately, winning the sixth and seventh holes. Neither player found the putting surface on eight and the hole was halved, as was the ninth. A third match all square after nine.
Last man out today for Greystones was Daniel O’Byrne, with Chris Boylan on his bag. Both Daniel and his opponent found trouble off the first tee and the hole was halved in bogey. On two, Dan was again struggling with his driver with his ball going OB left and, despite a good recovery shot off his second drive, the hole went to Castle. It was a similar story on three where Daniel was blocked out on the left and the Castle advantage was doubled. Four and five were halved but on the dogleg, par four sixth Daniel’s tee shot found OB once again and he found himself three down and not really playing to his normal high standards. After another loss on nine Daniel’s match headed for the second half with Castle ahead by four holes. On ten, Daniel found the green in two and when his opponent left his ball in the green side bunker Daniel claimed back a hole with a par. He hit a good drive up the middle of the fairway on eleven and was in prime position. The Castle man went left off the tee, was lucky not to find trouble, and left himself a straightforward pitch to the green. The hole was halved but unfortunately twelve and thirteen were Castle wins and the match was closed out on the fourteenth, 5&4.
Shane was continuing to play well and the first five holes on the back nine were halved. On the fifteenth, Shane found the same bunker that Toby had just been in ahead of him but failed to get up and down and lost the hole to a two putt par and headed back to the front side of the course, one down.
Right behind him, Dylan had won eleven to go one up but lost fourteen to a birdie to level the match once again. Like Toby and Shane, Dylan also found the green side bunker on fifteen and, like Toby, made an excellent up and down to half the hole.
Meanwhile, Jamie had won ten to go one up, lost eleven to go level and won twelve to go ahead once again. The standard of golf in this match, and them all in fact, was excellent and Jamie was still one ahead after fifteen as he too, headed for the front part of the course once again.
Needing the three matches the Greystones supporters were trying to watch all three simultaneously at this stage.
Shane halved sixteen and, on the par three seventeenth, it looked like his birdie putt was destined for the hole but ran agonisingly by to six inches giving his opponent the opportunity to close the match out if he could make his birdie. The Castle man raced his putt which, luckily for him, caught the edge of the hole and stopped three feet from the cup when it looked like he might have been eight feet past. He made his par putt and the match continued to eighteen with Castle dormie one up.
In the next match Dylan had hit two good shots to sixteen but an uncharacteristic three putt meant the hole was halved and the match moved to the seventeenth, still all square.
Both Shane and his opponent found the fairway on the par five eighteenth, and both hit good second shots but Shane got an unlucky bounce and his ball came to rest near a tree. First to play, the Castle player hit his chip to fifteen feet and Shane was unable to find the putting surface, hindered as he was by the tree. Despite a good recovery chip under the circumstances, Shane could only make bogey and the hole was lost to par.
The third, and deciding point, for Castle in an extremely tight semi-final.
Dylan was all square and Jamie was one up when called in on seventeen and sixteen, respectively.
Hard luck to Karl and all his squad who have made progress this year and have had a number of notable results to reach the final of the Darcy Trophy as well the semi-finals of both the Barton Shield and Senior Cup.
