Wishing Paul and Karl the best for today’s second round in the Irish Open
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Lady Captain Amanda’s big day(s)
Lady Captain Amanda’s Captain’s prize took place over two days this week. Day one was on Last Sunday, in testing conditions but there were some fantastic scores in nonetheless. The leader, on Sunday evening was Mary Kavanagh who shot an eye-watering 46 points. Also in the forties were Joyce Kirwan ( 42 ), Marguerite Hamill ( 41 ), Frances Twomey ( 40 ) and Janet Redmond ( 40 ). Day two, on Thursday was a better day in terms of weather and the day one leader held her nerve with an equally impressive 41 points to win this very prestigious prize.
Main results as follows:
Winner of Amanda Lawless’ Captain’s Prize Mary Kavanagh 46 + 41 = 87
2nd – Frances Twomey 40 + 35 = 75
Gross – Aisling Marmion 27+ 23 = 50
3rd – Janet Redmond 40 + 32 = 72
4th – Celine Joyce 36 + 34 = 70
Class I – Iris Haughton 33 + 36 = 69
Class II – Joyce Kirwan 42 + 27 = 69
Class III – Gemma Brazil 34 + 34 = 68
Class IV – Pauline Barry 33 + 35 = 68
President Neville’s Prize updated draw sheet
An updated draw sheet for President Neville’s Prize is now available in the matchplay section of this website.
Thanks to all who have completed their matches on time ( once again), this is much appreciated.
Down to the wire for the Super Seniors
Hard luck to the Super Seniors team who this afternoon bowed out of the competition at the quarter final stage.
We faced a very strong Kilcock team and in very trying conditions as the matches teed off. Team manager Liam O’Shea and assistant manager Pat Barry put out a strong team but unfortunately, even with three matches at home, it wasn’t to be our day.
At home, Alan O’Sullivan & Sean Hynes didn’t have their best game at the start and found themselves five down after seven holes but they dug in and won eight and nine to get back to three down after nine.
Ray Hogan & Vincent Prendergast had a very different experience and played great to win easily 5&4. Their win included a nice birdie on the fifth and an unbelievable approach shot by Ray on the twelfth over the trees on the right hand side of the fairway to two feet. This was a real momentum killer for their opposition who had already hit their approach shot close.
Liam had elected to send Cathal Cooney & Jerry Teehan away. Cathal & Jerry have been unbeatable over the past couple of years in this competition but today they met their match in Kilcock. They never really got going and lost, uncharacteristically, 4&3.
Our final home pair of Eddie Joynt & Denis Cromie got off to a great start against a really strong pair from Kilcock and turned three up. Getting a shot on the tenth they were hoping to turn the screw but, as often happens they ended up loosing the hole and were back to two up. This buffer was gone by the fifteenth and the match back to all square. Kilcock got a massive break on the fifteenth when their third shot hit a tree and rebounded to the middle of the fairway. To be fair they took full advantage of this bit of luck and won the hole with a great up and down from the back of the green for a well played bogey. On to the sixteenth and Denis hit a wonderful tee shot to ten feet and a par was enough to win the hole and move to seventeen back to all square.
Meanwhile, away in Kilcock our second match of Stephen Aherne & Jim Ryan were fighting hard. There was never more than the odd hole in this match which turned all square and was again even-steven after sixteen. A loss on seventeen meant that all Kilcock needed was a half on eighteen to win this match.
You can never write Alan & Sean off and they had a great win on the sixteenth to get their match back to all square ( having been 5 down earlier ) and headed to seventeen giving a shot to their opposition. We found the water and moved to eighteen dormie one down.
Behind, Eddie hit a great tee shot which found the middle of the fairway but Kilcock were also on the fairway and, as had been the case all day, were thirty or forty yards ahead. Given the position that Kilcock were in Denis felt he had no choice but to go for the green and was agonisingly close to clearing the water while Kilcock just barely cleared it and then just held on above ground. As was the case with Alan & Sean ahead and Stephen & Jim away, Denis & Eddie went to the eighteenth tee box, dormie one down.
Word filtered back from the eighteenth green that Alan & Sean had lost so we needed both remaining matches to steal the tie.
Denis hit a good tee shot while Eddie’s went a little high and to the left of the eighteenth fairway. Kilcock hit two excellent drives, one to each side of the fairway giving them a choice of shots. Eddie faced perhaps a 170 yard shot to the green off Denis’ drive and it went a little high and was killed a little by the wind leaving Denis still around seventy to the pin. Kilcock hit a good shot to just short of the green and were, crucially, putting. Denis’ approach was excellent, leaving the ball perhaps five feet from the hole but above it. The Kilcock putt from off the green for the match was tentative and it remained their putt, but still for the match. The Kilcock man hit a very good putt which just ran out of legs at the hole but they were in for a bogey five, leaving Eddie a very tough par putt to win the hole and to take the match to the nineteenth. Eddie has held a good number of crucial putts over the campaign but alas, this one slid past the hole and the tie was over with Kilcock having won three matches. Away from home, Stephen & Jim were called in on eighteen.
It was sad to see this campaign end after such a good run over the past two years but the lads put up a great show as defending champions. Well done to all involved.
Dramatic finish to the Jimmy Bruen & Powerscourt Cup matches today…
Our first match out today had our Jimmy Bruen team, managed by Pete Murray & Gavan McGirr, face a hardy Beech Park team. We had three matches at home which is always a bonus but as it unfolded the drama was at the away venue.
The matches teed off in the worst of the day’s weather. Our first pair out at home were Walter Gilbert & Derek O’Regan who got off to the worst of starts finding themselves 3 down after just five holes but, as this pair have shown in previous outings they are always well capable of a strong comeback. A half on the sixth steadied the ship and they played by far the better golf from the seventh, winning four holes on the trot to go one up through ten. Their opposition were no match from then on and wins on fourteen, fifteen and sixteen secured the match 4&3 for Greystones.
Our second pair of Keith Lewis & John Egan were always in control of their match despite being one down after the third and turned two up. Like the first match the lads played the back nine well and a win on the sixteenth closed the match 4&2. A second comfortable win and two points on the board.
Apart from these two matches however the garden looked far from rosy. Our third home pair of Paul Keane & Marc Hamilton started well with wins on the first and the third having them at one up but they were one down walking to the tenth teebox and they lost that also to go two down. A good win on the eleventh was followed by another loss on the twelfth. They remained two down after sixteen and needed to win the difficult seventeenth to keep their match alive. Paul had a tricky eight footer for par which narrowly missed and Beech Park only needed to two putt from five feet for a half and the match. The Beech Park man rolled the putt to a foot and the overall match was now 2:1 in Greystones favour and with the two away matches still alive.
Our first away pair of Colm Mulcahy & Eddie Davis were going like a train for the front nine, they were two up at the turn and won the tenth to have a nice three hole buffer. Losses on eleven and twelve however, made everything feel a little more uncomfortable. Our lads remained one up till the eighteenth and so needed just a for a Greystones win. Beech Park won the eighteenth unfortunately and it was off to the nineteenth.
Meanwhile our second pair away of Ray Crotty & Luke McLaughlin had fallen a bit behind and were stuck in a tight match. Turing one down Ray & Luke turned this score around with wins on the tenth and eleventh but came unstuck again loosing both the thirteenth and fourteenth to go back to one down. Standing on the eighteenth tee box the lads were still one down and obviously needed to win the hole to keep the match going.
Colm & Eddie halved the nineteenth and found themselves short of the par four second in two while their opposition were just off the green and ten feet from the flag in three. Colm was faced with a very tricky shot over the bunker but luckily had a decent lie and a little green to work with. He played a tremendous shot which ran to four feet. Beech Park’s chip left them a three footer. It was Greystones to putt first and Ed had held putts of similar length on both the eighteenth and nineteenth. He hit another good putt but unfortunately it lipped out and ran to a foot. In contrast to Ed, the Beech Park player had missed a three footer on the nineteenth and was now faced with a similar putt. Unfortunately for Beech Park he missed the putt and Colm slotted home his bogey putt to win the match and the tie.
Ray & Luke were called in on the eighteenth.
Another great Greystones win following on from the Irish Mixed team’s victory over Castle yesterday. Congratulations to all involved.
Unfortunately our Powerscourt Cup team came up a little short this afternoon in the final match of the weekend. We faced a difficult tie against Bray despite team manager, Heber O’Farrell picking a strong team. Our two away pairs were honors even with Gerry Browner & John Forde loosing narrowly 2&1 while Michael McNaughton & Michael O’Neill played great to secure an invaluable away point 3&2.
At home, our middle match of Kevin Smullen & John Burke found themselves one down playing the eighteenth and unfortunately lost the hole to put the tie at 2:1 to Bray. Our third home pair of Dara Cummins & Hugh O’Rourke turned two up but struggled on the back nine and were dormie one down as light began to fade.
Meanwhile, our first pair of Colm Drew & Michael McDonnell traded holes on the front nine to be as they started standing on the tenth tee. It was a similar story on the back nine and as the light began to fade they headed to the nineteenth to settle the match. As it unfolded, Dara & Hugh lost on eighteen just as Colm & Michael lost on the nineteenth. A valiant effort by all the team but it wasn’t to be our day.
Match results 25th June 2022
A mixed bag for our teams today in what were far from ideal golfing conditions.
First out were our Irish Junior Foursomes under the tutelage of Karl Holmes & Pete Anderson. We faced Bray in the most trying of conditions, high winds and squally rain. At home we had Dylan Holmes & Jack McGovern and our away pair were Jamie Anderson & William O’Riordan. Dylan & Jack played excellent golf and controlled their match till the very end when the very strong Bray pair salvaged a half from the match with an excellent birdie on the eighteenth. Despite playing well, Jamie & Will couldn’t match their opponents on a very windy Bray course and lost their match 4&3 for a 4up overall victory for the Bray team.
Our Irish Mixed Foursomes were out straight after the boys and, for the second outing in a row, put up a very strong performance, this time against a very formidable Castle team. At home, our second pair of Lisa Croke & David Byrne were exceptional and never missed a beat in their 6&5 win. Our first home pair of Darren McCormack & Nicky Brooks turned one up, lost ten to go all square and then moved into another gear, reeling off four successive wins to win 4&3. Away from home, Anne Costello & Chris Boylan were dominating their match at four up through twelve but their opposition fought back, winning fourteen & fifteen to bring the match back to two up with three to play. Our second away match out saw Amanda Lawless & Ray Nolan up against a very strong pair and they were two down at the turn but far from out of the match.
Meanwhile, back in Greystones our final pair of Aine O’Rourke & Adam Packman were going well and looked like they might well close out their match, and win the tie on the fourteenth. Unfortunately Aine found the bunker off the tee and, despite a good bunker shot from Adam we didn’t get up & down and lost the hole to a good par from Castle. On the fifteenth, Castle went right while Adam split the fairway. A perhaps over ambitious recovery shot from the Castle player opened the door for Adam & Aine and they took full advantage with a win on the hole, a win in their match 4&3, and a tie win by a margin of 4:1. Anne & Chris were two up through fifteen and Amanda & Ray were two down with five to play when called in.
Well done to managers, Ciara & Frank Marmion and all involved in a great win.
Teams to support this weekend
We have a busy team weekend this weekend.
First out, on Saturday, are our Irish Junior Foursomes team who play Bray and tee off at 15.30 in Greystones, one match home and one away. Straight after our Irish Mixed play Castle at 15.40. Then, on Sunday our Jimmy Bruen team play Beech Park with a 16.00 tee off in Greystones. Then at 16.30 our Powerscourt cup team take on Bray.
Come out and support if you can or follow live by following this link.
All Ireland Fourball make it two from two for today
Congratulations to Gerry Browner and his team who made it two wins from two for Greystones today after our earlier Junior Cup win.
Once again, there was a staggered tee start home and away with an hour delay at the away venue in Straffan. Gerry’s team had three at home but it took an away win to seal the tie after we only managed two home wins. Our first pair at home of Andrew Keating & Chuck Tarter got us off to a great start with a solid 4&3 win. Second out were Michael McDonnell & Colm Drew who didn’t have it quite so easy but got to two up with three to play and got over the line with a half on our difficult seventeenth. Our final home pair of Gerry Browner & Shane Maher had a difficult day, up against a decent pair from Straffan they found themselves four down with just five to play. To their credit, they kept the match alive with wins on fourteen and sixteen before losing the match 2&1 with a half on the seventeenth.
There was then the long wait to see what would unfold away from home with still one more point needed to win the overall tie. Ally Taylor & Declan Murphy were first out away and they turned one down. Our second pair of Michael McNaughton & John Smith on the other hand turned two to the good.
In the end Ally & Declan were one down playing the eighteenth when Michael & John secured the all important final match point fairly comfortably by a 4&3 margin.
Congratulations to all involved.
Junior Cup V Killiney result
Our first match this afternoon had our men’s Junior Cup team, who are managed by Brian Frawley & Ray Crotty face Killiney. With three matches in Killiney against, what is always a very tough opponent in this category it was going to be a big ask to win this one. The team had prepared well but it would come down to how the lads would perform on the day as usual.
Tee off in Killiney was fifty minutes ahead of the Greystones start time.
First out in Killiney was Cian Gilmore and it was hoped that his ferocious length might pay dividends today. It definitely looked like this wasn’t going to be the case after nine holes where Cian found himself five down.
Second out in Killiney was our Postman, Jamie Anderson who, despite losing the first, played great golf for the front nine with wins on the eight and ninth to have him turn one up. He continued his excellent performance on the back nine to go dormie four up. A hiccup on the fifteenth proved to only be a blip and he closed his match out 3&2.
Our third match away saw Collie Dunne face a tough opponent. The front nine were shared with three wins a piece and the back nine was equally tight but Collie found himself one down with three to play after a loss on the par five fifteenth.
Back home the matches were underway and our first man out was Alan Keane. Alan looked like he meant business from the off and five wins on the front nine, including wins on eight and nine had him three up heading down the lane to the back nine. He continued where he had left off and never took his foot of the pedal and won, convincingly on the fourteenth, 5&4.
Our anchorman, Diarmaid MacGabhann was out last and met an opponent who was having one of those days when a ball heading for awful trouble somehow ends up in play. Despite this Diarmaid and caddy David Kirby remained calm, played solid golf and hoped that the luck might change sides at some point. Two down through nine became three down after the tenth.
With two points already on the board but with Diarmaid three down through ten holes and it was unclear where Greystones might find the elusive third point to win the overall tie.
Better news began to emerge from Killiney however. Cian had found his mojo at the start of the second nine and won ten, eleven and twelve on the trot to reduce the deficit in his match to two down. He was back to three down after the thirteenth however and was again in need of a special response if he was to salvage anything from the match. This is exactly what he provided, winning another three holes on the bounce to bring the match to all square after sixteen for the first time since they teed off on the first. The seventeenth was halved and Cian had a great chance to win on the eighteenth however a three putt from just off the green saw the match go back to the first tee.
Meanwhile Collie was digging in with wins on the sixteenth and seventeenth to go from one down to one up at the most critical time in the match.
Diarmaid was also turning his match around with a win on the thirteenth followed by a great up and down on the fourteenth for another to get back to just one down.
Back in Killiney, Cian wasn’t going to give up the opportunity to win a second time and a par on the dog legged par four second won him his match, one up, while almost simultaneously Collie held a twenty footer on the eighteenth to win his match, two up.
The final score in the match was 4.5 to Greystones 0.5 to Killiney. An excellent performance by the whole team.
Golfer of the Year update
The 2022 GOTY table, updated after Medal 3 is available to view in the match-play section of this website or by clicking here.
All to play for with no player scoring in more than a single event so far.
