Padraig Croke, Pat O’Neill and their JB Carr team headed to the far end of the DART track this afternoon to take on Malahide in the away leg of the Leinster final, holding a slender 3-2 lead after last week’s home leg.
There was little between the teams last week and Padraig & Pat made just one change from last week’s pairings with Paul Keane coming in for the injured Martin Nolan. In contrast, the Malahide team today included wholesale changes from the first leg. This time they went for lower handicapped players so today there were very few shots been given either way whereas last week Greystones were giving five or six shots in each match.
First out today were Gerry Browner & Barry Massey who had won 4&3 last week but from the off it looked like it was going to be a different type of match this afternoon. The pair were two down after three and on the fourth Barry hit a lovely approach shot off a big drive from Gerry. His ball checked up nicely and left a fifteen footer for birdie. Malahide had found the front of the green and were first to putt. Unfortunately our three putt was beaten by a Malahide two putt and Barry & Gerry were three down. The par five, fifth went to Greystones and the sixth was halved. On the par three, seventh, both Gerry and Barry found the green, with Barry fifteen feet from the pin but both Malahide players also found the putting surface, with one hitting to five feet. Malahide made their birdie putt to win the hole and restore their three hole lead. Barry & Gerry were playing well however and won the tricky eighth and the ninth was halved giving Malahide a two hole advantage going to the back nine.
Our second pair today was that of Barry D. O’Leary & Tom Sheehy. This pair had played really well last week, recording a 5&4 win over their opponents but, like Gerry & Barry were in a different type of engagement today. Two down after three also and in trouble off the tee Tom had to hack out from behind trees to just ahead of the Malahide drive. It was hole however when the Malahide approach shot stopped six inches from the hole for a birdie win and a three hole advantage going to the fifth tee. Tom & Barry then strung three consecutive wins together to get the match back to all square after seven and it remained so after nine with a Malahide win on eight followed by a Greystones win on nine.
Colm Mulcahy & Robert Clarke had struggled last week against a strong Malahide pair but previous excellent form kept them in the squad for today’s tie. Today, Colm & Robert started very strong and this coupled with a slow start from their opposition allowed them to get into an excellent position with wins on the first, third, fourth (including a great sand save for par) and fifth holes to forge a four hole lead. This lead was reduced to just two by the tenth tee however following losses on six and nine.
Fourth to tee it up for Greystones were Tom Byrne & Michael Keating. Tom & Michael lost last week 4&2 but that match could have gone either way and the pair retained their spot on the team for the second leg. Malahide won the first with a par but Tom & Michael fought back with wins on two and three to get to one up. On the fourth Michael hit a great shot over trees to find the front of the green in two while his opposite number could only get to a similar distance from the pin from the middle of the fairway. Both pairs three putted and the hole was halved. Five and six went to the home team and halves on the following three holes resulted in a one hole advantage for Malahide after nine.
In the only change to the team, Paul Keane came in to replace Martin Nolan alongside David O’Toole. Martin & David had won 5&4 last week but Paul was selected as the replacement for the injured Martin and Paul & David teed it up in the anchor position this afternoon. The opening three holes went to Malahide but another excellent up and down from the bunker on the fourth, for par, gave us the first Greystones win in this match. The three hole lead was immediately restored however when Malahide won the fifth, and the Greystones win on the following hole proved to be the last win for the boys in yellow in this particular match today. Paul & David hadn’t really found their rhythm and turned three down.
So, at the halfway on the course position today it looked like we might have been heading for a playoff. Gerry & Barry were two down, Barry & Tom were all square, Colm & Robert were two ahead, Tom & Michael were one down and Paul & David were three down.
On the back nine Barry & Gerry got their match back to friendly with wins on eleven and twelve and made a great half on thirteen after a poor second shot by Barry and a mediocre third from Gerry. With their ball back left of the green they made a quite brilliant up and down for a bogey five to half the hole after their opponents three putted from twenty feet. On to the very difficult par three fourteenth. Gerry was the only player of the four ball to hit the green, finding the back of the putting surface with a front pin position. Malahide were on the edge of the bunker but closer to the hole. A misread by Greystones lead to a three putt while Malahide made a nice up and down for par to once again edge into the lead. On the par five fifteenth Barry had found a fairway bunker with his second shot, leaving Gerry, what some call the most difficult bunker shot in golf, fifty yards from the pin. Gerry hit a great shot and found the green not that much further away from the pin than the Malahide approach from the fairway. Barry’s putt threatened the hole and ran past by two feet – a definite par – but the Malahide men slotted their six foot birdie putt for another win, at what was a crucial point in the match. Sixteen was halved and on the par five seventeenth a good approach from Barry was matched by an equally good third by his Malahide opponent. Gerry missed the birdie putt and when the Malahide player rolled his to six inches it was game over and a 3&1 win for Malahide.
Tom & Barry got their noses in front with a win on the tenth, eleven was halved but from there it was all Malahide. The local pair played some great golf, pars and birdies to win the next five holes in a row to record and 4&2 victory and a second point for the home team today.
At the back of the field the day wasn’t getting any better for David & Paul as they lost the tenth to go four down and losses on twelve and thirteen sealed their fate with a 6&5 loss. Three nil up to Malahide, we now desperately needed the two remaining matches to go our way to force a playoff.
Robert & Colm’s match went to all square after Malahide wins on the tenth and eleventh holes but a Greystones win on the twelfth restored some red to the scoreboard.
At this time, Tom & Michael had battled to a two hole advantage after wins on eleven and twelve. Thirteen went to Malahide and fourteen was halved in par after an excellent Malahide up and down. Fifteen was also halved and on sixteen it looked like Tom & Michael might go dormie two up when Malahide found themselves in a difficult position in the trees to the right of the green with the Greystones’ ball pin high right, albeit a little away from the green. As it turned out Malahide won the hole when we took four to get down to their three, and the match headed to the seventeenth all square.
Colm & Robert also had a difficult sixteenth hole. Colm’s drive was left off the tee and the pair elected to play Robert’s. Unfortunately Colm’s second found the water left of the green and the hole was lost. Neither pair played the seventeenth well and a bogey six was enough for a Malahide win and they took a dormie one hole advantage to the eighteenth. The first Malahide tee shot to this 150 yard par three came to a stop fifteen feet from the pin. Colm’s was the better of the Greystones tee shots but was twenty five feet from the stick. Robert’s putt came up short and when the Malahide man rolled his to a foot it was time to shake hands.
Tom & Michael were called in, all square on seventeen.
Hard luck to Padraig, Pat and the entire squad who put so much into the campaign, their efforts are much appreciated by all club members – we definitely had some exciting evenings during the season. Many thanks also to Malahide for the sporting way that the final was played.
