Mount Juliet Golf Notes

The April Medal was played for last Sunday and it produced the biggest entry of competitors for a long number of years. The scoring matched the entry with 39 points leading the field on a dry but crisp day with a “bite” in the prevailing north easterly wind. The scoring was led by Alan Hearn who returned 39 points in category 1 which was followed by 38 points both in category 2 and in the ladies section. The remaining category was won by Brian Nevin with a steady score of 35 points. Because of the difficult conditions the C.S.S. for the day was reduced to 34 points for all categories and consequently there was a number of players who had their handicaps adjusted accordingly. As this medal competition also counted as a qualifier for the club match-play the cut off for the 32 men who qualified was 30 points with two players getting through on 29 points. The sixteen ladies who made their match-play stages qualified on 27 points or better.

Alan Hearne scored nines of 20 and 19 points respectively for a round of 39 points and in the process gained some valuable points in his quest to regain Golfer of the Year. In category 2 , Shay Quinn, led the field with two nines of 19 points and this was equalled by Lynda Hickey in the ladies section. Lynda scored nines of 18 and 20 points respectively in her fine round.

The draw for the match-play stages is posted on the notice board and full details will appear in next week’s edition. The first round of the match-play will have to be completed by 31st May with the top named player to contact his/her opponent.
On the inter club scene two more teams unfortunately made their exit in the first round with the defeat of the Leinster Men’s Fourball team at the hands of Waterford and the Barton Cup team going down to neighbours Callan. Both teams were decisively beaten in their respective matches on a scoreline of 4/1.

This week the annual Spring maintenance programme is going ahead so the course will not re-open until this Thursday for play.

Results April Monthly Medal Sunday 15th April

Category 1. Alan Hearne(8)……………. 39 points
Category 2. Shay Quinn(15)…………….38 points
Category 3. Brian Nevin(17)……………35 points
Ladies. Lynda Hickey(21)………………  38 points

The Winter Series was played last week and this resulted in a win for three friends from Laois and Kilkenny who returned a winning score of 78 points. The format was a three person rumble over 18 holes and the winners had a comfortable victory over the opposition. The next round of the series takes place on Wednesday 7th December and tee reservations for this competition can be made by telephoning 056 7773071.

Last Sunday saw the Member/Guest competition over 16 holes for hampers. The format was a fourball stableford and the winners scored an impressive 40 points. They were two shots clear of their nearest rivals who scored 38 points each. Conditions were good for scoring with no rain but the course played long after the heavy rainfall on Friday. The winners, Gerard Magee and his guest, Paul Lawlor, scored 23 points for the first nine holes and added a further 17 points on the last seven holes. The runners-up also scored 23 points on their first nine holes but could only manage a further 15 points on their homeward journey. This was sufficient to beat the third pairing on a countback.

Results Winter Series

Winners

Shay Quinn (14) (The Heritage)

James Farrell (7) (Kilkenny)

Lar Ryan (8) (Rathdowney) 78 points

Member/Guest Fourball Stableford

Winners
Gerard Magee (18)
Paul Lawlor (8) 40 points

Second
Sean O’Neill (14)
Liam Duggan (12) 38 points

Third
Alan Hearn (9)
Maurice Neligan (11) 38 points

Some very good scoring was recorded last Sunday in the Jack Nicklaus Trophy singles which also counted for Golfer of the Year points. With play off the white tees on a blustery day, conditions were far from ideal. The magic score was 41 points and this was recorded in both the ladies and men’s competitions. The best score of the day in either categories qualifies the competitor to have the honour of being the holder of the perpetual trophy for 2011.

This distinction fell to John Keane as he beat Sally Gleeson and Jeff Howes on a countback. All three players recorded 41 points each but John just got home by virtue of the fact that he scored 21 points on the last nine holes against Sally’s and Jeff’s 19 points. Three holes which probably defined the outcome of the result in deciding the winner were possibly the par three, 14th, where Sally failed to score and in Jeff’s case, the 17th and 18th which he proceeded to bogey in his round when victory seemed assured. The other unusual feature about the competition was that the first three prize winners in the men’s section were single figure golfers.

The winner, John, had a fine round of 14 pars, 3 bogies (5th, 8th and 13th) and one birdie at the 9th which when added up totals a round of 74 gross (two over par). Fine scoring indeed which was equalled by Jeff Howes in his round of 12 pars, 4 bogies (7th, 10th 17th and 18th) and two birdies on the 8th and 11th holes and outright victory only eluded him by virtue of his dropped shots on the last two holes played. The second and third places in the ladies section was won with 38 points and Amelia Drumm, who was third in the ladies section, registered 24 points for her first nine holes but faded on the back nine to only register a further 14 points. Third place in the men’s section was won by David Kelly with 38 points also. The C. S. S. for the day was 36 points for the men and 37 points for the ladies.

On the inter club scene, the Duggan Cup Team made their exit to neighbours Gowran Park Golf Club after a great battle in both the home and away matches. The only team standing in the men’s section is the Barton Shield team who have yet to do battle in the qualifying round in two weeks time. The ladies are faring slightly better with the Challenge Cup team yet to play Kilkenny at Callan Golf Club next week and the Ladies Fourball team set to play Carrick-on-Suir Golf Club in the first round shortly.

The Golfer of the Year tables now show Kevin McCartan in a clear lead from Alan Hearn and in the ladies section Sally Gleeson has a narrow lead over Amelia Drumm.

Jack Nicklaus Trophy