Mount Juliet Golf Notes

After the excitement of last week’s Captains Prizes there was a sense of calm about the club as the members gathered their strength for the next two months of club action. In the meantime, the McCalmont Cup Matchplay has reached the semi-final stages and through to that stage are Kathryn O’Connor who defeated Paul Barrett, Michael Brennan who beat Pat Price Jr., John O’Connor who edged out Helen Scully and Chris McHugh who got the better of Ruth Skehan. Kathryn is the only lady left flying the flag for the female members after the elimination of Helen and Ruth and who knows she could easily go all the way as she is playing very solid golf at the present time.

On the inter club scene the next opponents for the home club in the Duggan Cup are Carlow, who got the better of Gowran Park, this fixture will be played in the next two weeks.

This week sees the Summer Series take place on this Thursday and there are a few spaces left on the timesheet for anyone still interested. The series is a four person team event, ladies or gents, with two scores to count on each hole.

Next Sunday sees the July Medal down for decision and this is a Golfer of the Year event. At present, the leader in the men’s section is Stephen Price and he is well clear of his nearest pursuer Andrew Nixon. The Ladies section has Ruth Skehan at the head of affairs on 47 points with Amelia Drumm in pursuit four points behind on 43 points. Neither of the leaders are involved in the McCalmont Cup and so with four competitions left before the winner is known, it looks like the next two competitions will have a big bearing on the overall result.

The first round of the Summer Series was played last week and it resulted in a win for a team from Woodenbridge Golf Club in Co. Wicklow. This was a first win for this group of golfers and they did so very emphatically. They scored a total of 92 points and won by three shots from a local team of golfers based at Callan and Kilkenny. The winners turned with 43 points after nine holes but they really came to life on the back nine with a very good 49 points. The runners-up had nines of 44 and 45 points. The next round for this popular series will take place on Wednesday 16th June. The format is a 4 person team event with two scores to count on the first seventeen holes and three scores to count on the last hole. Teams may consist of ladies or gents or a combination of both. There is a timesheet for each event and tee times can be reserved by phoning 056 7773071 or 7773064.

On the inter club scene, the ladies are in action next week in the Challenge Cup where they play Bunclody at Rathsallagh. They are then pitted against Borris at Enniscorthy in the Intermediate Cup. The men are to play New Ross in the Duggan Cup and they also have the qualifying round of the Pierce Purcell Shield.

This Wednesday the May Ladies Invitation Day takes place and on Sunday next the May Monthly Medal will be decided and the latter competition will count towards Golfer of the Year points.

Results Summer Series for May

The Monthly Summer Series for May was played last week and a team from Limerick were victorious on a breezy but warm day. Jed O’ Dwyer from The Hurler’s Cross pub led his team to a convincing victory with a very good score of 93 points. They had nines of 48 and 45 points respectively and ran out winners by 2 points from the Kilkenny based team of Liam Slevin, Niall O’Gorman, Victor Smyth and Ken Hovenden who in turn beat the Dublin team of Pamela Harrington, Susan Hegarty, Gilly Campbell and Philip Wardick on a countback.

The next competition in the series takes place on June 10^th with the format the same for all the series which is a four person team event. Each event is a “shotgun start” at 2pm which is proving to be very popular with the players.

Two more teams were in action on the Inter Club scene and unfortunate to relate that both teams suffered a defeat. In the first leg of the quarter final of the Ladies Junior Foursomes against Moate Golf Club, the Mount Juliet team acquitted themselves well by losing 2 matches to 1 with the second leg due to be played in two weeks time at Mount Juliet. Hopefully they can reverse the away result and march through to the semi-final.

In the qualifying round of the Pierce Purcell Shield held at Wexford Golf Club last Saturday the Mount Juliet Team, although acquitting themselves well, lost out when they failed to qualify for the regional playoff. Unfortunately the only men’s team left in competition now is the Duggan Cup team and they now play Callan in early June.

Pierce Purcell Team at Wexford last Saturday

Next Sunday sees the Jack Nicklaus Trophy down for decision and this is a Golfer of the Year competition and is regarded as one of the “majors” in the club to win.

All members involved are reminded that there is only a fortnight left to complete the first round of the McCalmont Cup matchplay.

Results Summer Series:

Winners:
Jed O’ Dwyer(11)
Tony Finan(17)
Mike O’ Brien(13)
Donal Hanley(18) Casteltroy G.C.……… 93 points.

Second:
Liam Slevin(12) Castelcomer G.C.
Victor Smyth(10)
Ken Hovenden(15)
Niall O’ Gorman(10) Kilkenny…………. 91 points.

Third:
Pamela Harrington(32) Boystown
Philip Wardick(10)
Susan Hegarty(32)
Gilly Campbell(14) Edmondstown………91 points.