Best of luck to Isabella Stewart,one of our Junior girls, who tees it up in Ballybunion today and tomorrow as part of the Munster Women’s and Girls’ Junior Open competition.
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Under 15s lose out to Malahide in final
Well it was a big ask and in the end our Under 15s weren’t able to pull off a “miracle in Malahide” this afternoon despite their best efforts.
The task was made as difficult as it was by virtue of the agonising defeat in the first home leg of the final in Greystones earlier this month when we lost 4:1. On that day Marc Lawless lost out by a margin of 3&2, William O’Riordan went down 4&3 while both Jamie Anderson and Dylan Holmes both lost their matches on the eighteenth. Jack McGovern held firm on the day to clinch a 2&1 win to give a glimmer of hope to the team. The real difference on the day was on the greens with the Malahide players coming to grips with our greens from the get-go while our players seemed to struggle.
To be fair the team set off today for Malahide full of fight and determination to not roll over and to their credit each and everyone of them gave their all over the two legs.
To make matters worse for the team Jack McGovern had to withdraw from the team for the second leg of the match due to a shoulder injury.
First out today was once again Marc Lawless who was getting three shots. Marc started well with a win on the first but his opponent found his rhythm and got himself into a good position with wins on the third, forth and sixth holes to go two up. Marc pegged him back to one up with a good win on the seventh but the Malahide man responded with wins on the eighth and ninth to get to three up. The tenth and eleventh were traded and then Marc pushed hard claiming both the twelfth and thriteenth holes to be back within touching distance. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be Marc’s day and loses on fourteen and fifteen sealed the deal for Malahide 3&2.
Our second man out today was Toby Murphy who didn’t play in the first leg but has been a stalwart of the team over the season. Toby was giving three shots to his opponent and it was nip and tuck for the first nine holes with Toby winning the second and fifth while his opposite number won the third and the seventh. All square after nine holes.
Our number three today was Jamie Anderson who made it clear from the off that he was going to do his damnedest to avenge his loss from the first leg with wins on the first two holes. He wasn’t going to have it all his own way however. He lost the third and won the fifth before loosing the seventh for the match to be all square through seven. Wins on eight and eleven saw him back in control however and he was playing some very solid golf.
William O’Riordan struggled a bit today off the tee and despite and excellent win the the second and a stunning half on the forth involving a fantastic up and down, found himself one down after five and three down and the turn. Despite his very best efforts he wasn’t able to recover and his opponent only needed and half on the tricky fourteenth to win the match 5&4.
Almost simultaneously, Toby, after a very difficult back nine watched as his opponent, not for the first time on the day, held a raker of a putt on the fifteenth to win the match 4&3.
The top match saw a rematch for Dylan Holmes who was once again giving one shot to his opposition. This was a match of the highest quality with holes being won and halved with birdies. Malahide took the early lead and were two up through four holes but Dylan steadied the ship and more with wins on the fifth, sixth and eighth holes to go one up. Malahide won the ninth to have an even match once again standing on the tenth teebox. There was nothing to separate either player over the first three holes of the back nine but Dylan who, like Jamie was eager to avenge his loss in the first leg, hit some magnificent shots to win the thirteenth and fourteenth and held a two hole lead with four to play when called in.
Jamie halved the twelfth and but a fine win on the thirteenth had him three up with five left to play. He and his opponent halved the fourteenth and Jamie was looking odds on to win his match on the fifteenth when called in.
All in all we should be extremely proud of this team and they have certainly given us lots of great golfing moments this year. Hard luck to managers Peter Anderson & Karl Holmes and to the entire squad.
Big day for Under 15s
Our Under 15s have a mountain to climb this afternoon when they travel to Malahide for the second leg of their Leinster Final.
We trail 4:1 after the first leg which took place at Greystones two weeks ago.
A big ask but no better lads to do it..
You can follow the match by clicking here of selecting the Live Scoring app on the club website Home page.
Dylan Holmes Under 16 Boys’ Interprovisionals
We wish Dylan every success as he represents Leinster in the Under 16s Interprovsionals in Mount Wolseley this Saturday and Sunday.
Greystones SUPER Super Seniors!
Many congratulations to Liam O’Shea, Pat Barry and their whole squad after their fantastic win today against Dublin Mountain Golf Club.
Today’s final was held at Elm Park Golf Club who run the competition and no doubt Stephen Cahill was looking down on the team today. Stevie was a big supporter of this event.
Three of our pairs were giving shots to their opposition today in this Scotch Foursomes format which is never easy to do.
Our first pair out were the ever dependable Cathal Cooney & Jerry Teehan. This pair have been ultra solid through out the whole campaign but a wrist injury for Jim necessitated a call to be made as late as yesterday evening regarding his fitness. In the end he pulled on the (new) jumper this morning and thankfully his bandaged wrist held up. Cathal & Jerry got off to a quick start and were three up after four. They shot 5 over gross for the front nine to turn at four up and very much in control of their match even though they were giving ten shots.
Our second pair of Ray Hogan & Julian Pollard had a tough start and found themselves a couple down through four and losses on seven and nine saw them turn at four down. The back nine didn’t start any better for the pair as they lost the eleventh to find themselves in a very tricky position at five down. Many might drop the heads but Ray & Julian fought back, winning the twelfth and thirteenth and had a great chance to win the fourteenth when their putt seemed to defy gravity on the edge of the hole. Another win on the fifteenth brought the match back to two down but the tricky sixteenth went the way of Dublin Mountain and the lads lost 3&2.
At the back of the field Eddie Joynt and Denis Cromie were send out to anchor the team and had to give six shots. A loss on the first wasn’t what was hoped for but wins on three and four eased matters for all concerned and as the lads played their usual solid golf they focused on the matter in hand and turned three up.
Pat O’Regan and Jim F. Ryan were out third, giving eight shots and not unlike Ray and Julien had a tough start to their match finding themselves two down through four holes. It was nip and tuck for the remainder of the front nine but an unfortunate loss on the tenth meant they were three down. Further losses on the twelfth and thirteenth left them with an uphill battle at five down with five to play. To their credit they dug their heals in and were going to keep the match alive for as long as possible. They won the fourteenth and fifteenth but like Ray & Julian the sixteenth was their Waterloo and the match closed by a margin of 3&2 to give Dublin Mountain their second point on the board.
Our fourth pair out today were Sean Hynes and Alan O’Sullivan, playing a flat match. One up through four holes the pair were playing great and wins on the seventh and ninth gave them a two hole advantage over their opposition and it never looked like Alan or Sean was going to give up this lead. With the bit between their teeth the pair won nine, ten, eleven, twelve and thirteen to win their match and get a Greystones point on the board 6&5
Meanwhile Cathal & Jerry were continuing the back nine as they had played the front nine. A win on the twelfth got them to five up with six to play and while a loss on the twelfth might have given their Dublin Mountain opponents a glimmer of hope Cathal & Jerry stamped their authority on the match with wins on both fourteen and fifteen to close the match 5&3.
Two all and down to the last match…
After turning three up Eddie & Denis won the eleventh after a half on the tenth to go four up and the tricky par three twelfth saw both pairs miss the green short but crucially miss the water also. Denis needed to hold his nerve, which he did, over a 4 footer to make four and halve the hole and maintain their advantage. Dublin Mountain weren’t going to give up without a fight however and they kept their hopes up with a win on the thirteenth. Three up to Greystones with five holes left to play and crucially Eddie & Denis managed a win on the fourteenth to bring the match to dormie with four to play.
Dublin Mountain managed to get two tee shots on the fairway on the awkward fifteenth while Eddie found the trees on the right of the fairway and Denis’s ball ended up on the fourteenth fairway. Eddie hit a great recovery shot through the trees and both pairs were now chipping to the green for their third shot. Denis’ chip got caught in the grass and came upp short while his opposite number ran a great chip up the green which ended up being enough to win the hole.
Dormie three up and by now the galleries were growing as the other matches finished and this obviously became the decider. Nerves were twitching among the gallery not to mind the players. The sixteenth hole has plenty of water on it but Eddie found the fairway and left Denis in a decent position from where he hit a good shot to just short of the green. The Dublin Mountain player was left with a tough shot from the rough 120 yards short of the green after a poor second shot. To his credit he played a great shot but ended up at the back of the green with the pin at the front, perhaps 40 feet away. Eddie’s chip found the front of the green but left Eddie twelve foot from the pin for par. For all the world it looked like the hole would be halved as we were giving a shot and Dublin Mountain had a difficult putt to come that had three stab written all over it. In the end however a fantastic first putt from the Dublin Mountain player to get the ball to four feet and their bogey was enough to claim the hole and keep the match alive.
The long par three sixteenth beckoned. Both Dublin Mountain players hit poor tee shots, the better of which left a perhaps 90 yards to the pin out of the rough whereas both Denis and Eddie hit excellent tee shots under pressure with Eddie’s having the better angle to the green. The Dublin Mountain player found the back of the green and in fact did well to hang on. Denis played a sensible shot to the front of the green leaving the ball below the hole. Dublin Mountain were first to putt and left the ball six feet short while Eddie rolled the ball to three feet. With Greystones just needing a half for the match it all came down to this six footer. There were a lot of breaths being held as the ball rolled towards the hole and a lot of sighs of relief from the Greystones contingent as it rolled past the hole and it was then handshakes all around with Greystones winning the Super Seniors 2021.
Congratulations to the managers and all the players who played today and to all the squad who contributed to the team during the campaign.
Golf Ireland Stategic Plan
Golf Ireland have invited participation in a survey to assist them in framing their stategic plan.
You can take part in this survey by clicking HERE
Super Seniors Final Tuesday 5th – Elm Park
Liam O’Shea and Pat Barry will lead our Super Seniors team as they head for Elm Park to play Dublin Mountain G.C. in the final of the Leinster competition.
There has been some excellent and exciting golf played by the team to get to the final and it would be great to see support in Elm Park tomorrow to hopefully see them win the final.
Tee off is at 10.30 in Elm Park.
2020 Prize giving – at last …..
2020 Captain, David Kirby took centre stage again “for one night only” this evening to present the 2020 major cups and medals winners with their prizes. The good news was that his blazer still fitted perfectly and it was great that David was able to make the presentations having been unable to do so last year due to Covid 19 restrictions.
A full list of 2020 winners is below.
Major Winners 2020
Frank Talbot Fourball Chuck (Charles) Tarter & Paul McNaughton
Winner 2020
Frank Talbot Fourball Andy Nolan & Dominic Reilly
Runner-up 2020
Residents’ Cup Stephen O’Brien
Winner 2020
Tyler Cup Les Gaw
Winner 2020
Veterans’ Cup Cathal Cooney
Winner 2020
Club Champion 2020 David Byrne
Club Championship Diarmaid MacGabhann
Runner-up 2020
Class Cup Winner 2020 Philip Dempsey
Class I
Class Cup Winner 2020 Neil Lawless
Class II
Class Cup Winner 2020 Johnathan Kirwan
Class III
Class Cup Winner 2020 Cian McNaughton
Class IV
Scratch Cup Winner 2020 Alan Condren
Class I
Scratch Cup Winner 2020 Keith Lewis
Class II
Scratch Cup Winner 2020 Shane Ralph
Class III
Scratch Cup Winner 2020 John Hynes
Class IV
Canon Fennelly Winner 2020 Gerry Browner & Des Cullen
Haughton Trophy 2019 Winner Donal O’ Gallagher
Medal 1 Barry Massey
Medal 2 Diarmaid MacGabhann
Medal 3 Maurice Phelan
Medal 4 Niall Stokes
Medal 5 Henry Gilbert
Gold Medal winner Diarmaid MacGabhann
Under 15s with it all to do…
Our under 15 team have left themselves a lot to do in the second leg of their Leinster final which will be away to Malahide on the 17th.
Unfortunately the team are down 4:1 after today’s golf but as they say, this is only half time and we have a bunch of resilient and talented players who have proven that they can win away from home before.
Golfer of the year final standings
Congratulations to Tom Byrne who wins Golfer of the Year by virtue of his second place in Pat O’Neill’s prize which was settled on Saturday. Pat’s prize was won by Declan Murray.
In a tightly contested GOTY 2021 Tom won by 10 points beating Captain Philip Pratt’s prize winner, Julian Keown, Keith Lewis and Brian Frawley into joint second place.
Top 5 GOTY placings as follows:
Tom Byrne 230 points
Julian Keown 220 points
Keith Lewis 220 points
Brian Frawley 220 points
Declan Murray 200 points
A full GOTY table is available in the match-play section of this website or by clicking here.
