Gents Competition Results

It was an early start for our Fitzgibbon players who faced Killiney this morning and in high winds we got our inevitable, high drama as the morning unfolded.

First out in Greystones at 08.00 were Jamie Anderson and David Kirby and they started well with wins on the third and sixth to go two up, however their Killiney opponents were both experienced players and they fought back with a win on the 8th to get to the turn with Greystones one up. Another loss for Jamie and David on the 10th was cancelled when they won the 12th. The thirteenth was halved but the home duo stuck at it and won fourteen to go two up with four to play.  They halved fifteen and closed the match out 3&2 with a win on the sixteenth.

Our second home pair of Martin Nolan and John Egan were paired together on the back on some very strong singles performances and they weren’t found wanting today. An early win on the third was immediately followed with a loss on the fourth but the lads bounced back by winning the fifth to restore their one hole advantage and they never seemed to be in any difficulty from here on in. Another win on the eighth saw them turn two up and even after they lost ten, they immediately restored their lead with a good win on the eleventh.  The twelfth and thirteenth were halved before the Greystones pair went three up with four to play with a win on the fourteenth.  They closed the match on the sixteenth with a win 4&2, having won all the par threes played today bar the first (which they halved).

It all looked to be going to plan for our third home pairing of Brian Frawley & Trevor Phillips winning the fourth and fifth holes to go two up but unfortunately their opposite numbers had other ideas and it was they who managed the high winds around the rock hole better than our men.  Losses on the sixth, seventh and ninth had the away team one up at the turn and they didn’t let up there, winning the tenth to complete the hole score reversal and get to two up.  As they moved into the meat of the back nine however Brain and Trevor dug deep and won eleven and twelve to get back to friendly before winning the fourteenth to go one up with four to play.  It all got very tight with fifteen and sixteen halved before a great Greystones win on the seventeenth sealed a 2&1 win and a three nil win for the home team overseen by the team assistant manager, Eddie Lonergan.

Meanwhile in Killiney the matches teed off from 09.30 – in very, very windy conditions …..

Our second pair out in Killiney were Paul Keane & Henry Gilbert who had a roller-coaster of a round today.  They found themselves two down after just four holes before they hit their opposition with three wins on the bounce, going from two down to one up by the eighth tee.  A half on eight was followed by a loss on the ninth but their slender lead was restored with a win on the eleventh, the Killiney player missing a relatively easy putt after his partner had played a great chip shot over the bunker to the left of the green. Unfortunately it all went against Paul & Henry from here and they lost five consecutive holes to lose the match by a scoreline of 4&2.

Our final pair in Killiney were Chris Boylan & Rob Tierney, neither of whom had played this nine hole course before.  They were clearly unsure of the course and got caught out a couple of times but still played well and a win on the ninth saw them get their noses in front for the first time in the match at the turn. They were pegged back to all square on the tenth but having seen the front nine layout,  the lads hit the pro button.  A great drive on the thirteenth by Chris followed by an equally good approach shot by Rob to pin high and a good two putt gave them a win with a par. Rob hit a really great iron to the par three fourteenth to give another win with a par to go two up with four to play. Fifteen was halved but another par on the par three sixteenth saw the Greystones pair close out the match 3&2.

First out, but last to finish their match in Killiney was the Greystones pairing of player/manager Colm Mulcahy & Liam Moulton. Ironically, they were paired against the Killiney player/manager,Frank and his playing partner Keith Bardon (of Titleist fame). Both pairs played solid golf and following wins on the fourth and seventh and a loss on the eighth the match turned at one up to Greystones. A further win on the tenth and it looked to be all going well but after losses on the twelfth, fourteenth and sixteenth we had gone from two up to one down with just two to play.  A good up and down on the seventeenth leveled the match and Colm and Keith headed to the eighteenth tee.  First up on this dogleg right hole, Colm hit a five wood that was caught by the wind and headed to the trees on the right while Keith hit a great drive down the left to position A. Killiney were first to play and Frank hit a good shot but it went through the green leaving Keith with a difficult chip.  Our pair had located Colm’s ball which had in fact just cleared the trees but Liam was faced with a difficult approach shot with a small tree no more than fifteen feet in front of him.  He hit a great wedge shot, over the tree, pin high to about fifteen feet.  A deft chip from Killiney to four feet was followed by Colm’s putt to two and a half feet.  The Killiney putt slid agonisingly (for them) past the hole and Liam stood up and knocked in his putt for a great win.

Final score Greystones 10 points – Killiney 2 points.