Mount Juliet Golf Notes

With only one more round of the Waterford Crystal sponsored Winter Series to go, four more players joined the list of qualifiers last week by virtue of winning the 4 Person Team Event.

On a real testing day for returning good scores, with very strong gusts of wind the order of the day, the competitors had a real test of endurance and stamina. The best of the conditions prevailed in the early morning but as the day progressed so did the wind which made scoring very difficult. However, the four members of Carrick-on-Suir Golf Club had no difficulty in registering a winning score of 82 points and so qualify for the Grand Final on April 14th.

The format of the event was for two scores to count on all holes except the 18th where three scores counted. The Carrick men turned with a fine score of 43 points but had to hang on for dear life over the back nine and only one of the team registered a bogie for 2 points on the 18th which was playing particularly long and difficult. However this was enough to beat the Waterford/Wexford combination of Charlie Aherne, Ger Whittle, Brian Cooke and Terry O’Connor by one shot and the Robert Dormer led team from Clare who finished third a further shot behind.

The last round of the Winter Series takes place on Tuesday 1st April and the format will be a 3 Person Rumble and tee times for this event can be reserved by phoning 056/7773071 or 7773064. After this competition 31 qualifiers will partake in the Grand Final to decide the overall winner. All qualifiers will receive a piece of inscribed Waterford Crystal and the overall winner on the day will receive a special prize of Crystal as well as the runner-up and third.

Results Winter Series

Winners
Tom Murphy (9)
Toby Vereker (16)
Kevin Keane (18)
Joe Vereker (12) 82 points

Second
Charlie Aherne (6)
Ger Whittle (13)
Brian Cooke (9)
Terry O’Connor (17) 81 points

Third
Luke Coote (11)
Anthony Coote (15)
Paul Higgins (11)
Robert Dormer (9) 80 points

On the Interclub scene, the Mount Juliet Ladies Junior Foursomes team built a comprehensive lead going into the second leg of the second round against Woodlands in two week’s time.

The first two matches consisted of Myra Phelan with Maire Shee and Mary Fulton with Rita Garvey and these two pairings won by 7 and 6 and Pearl Brennan and Susan Mahony won by 3 and 2.

Last Sunday, the Member/Guest series resumed on a slightly chilly but predominantly dry day. There was a record turnout for the event. Scoring on overall was good with the winning team recording an easy victory. The format of the event was a 3 person (member +2 guests) rumble and the winning team consisted of Jim Cusack and his two guests Michael Healy and Dan Cronin. They returned a very good score of 81 points to win by two points from Pat Doyle and his guests, Ron Kelly and John Cardiff. They in turn had four points to spare over Padraic O’Connor’s team. Jim and his playing partners scored very consistently throughout the 18 holes and only showed some frailty on the last few holes. However they managed to hang on and emerged as convincing winners on the day.

Results

Winners:
Jim Cusack (14)
Dan Cronin (18) Slade Valley G.C.
Michael Healy (20) Bodenstown G.C. 81 points

Second:
Pat Doyle (14)
Ron Kelly (12) Newlands G.C.
John Cardiff (13) Bodenstown G.C. 79 points

Third:
Padraic O’Connor (18)
Hugh O’Connor (14) Woodbrook G.C.
David Ryan (13) Charlesland G.C. 75 points

The next Member/Guest Day takes place on Sunday 6th April and in the meantime the Family Day takes place on Easter Sunday with the Monthly Medal down for decision on Sunday 30th March.

The second last round of the Winter Series takes place on Tuesday 11th March and a full report will appear in next week’s notes. The last competition in the series before the Grand Final, takes place on Tuesday 1st April and the format will be a 3 Person Rumble. The timesheet for this competition is open and reservations can be made by phoning 056/7773071 or 7773064.