Mount Juliet Golf Notes

Last Sunday saw the Intermediate Scratch Cup run for the first time and this was a singles stroke competition over 18 holes. This proved to be a very popular competition with visitors and members alike with quite a large entry on the day. The winning score was 81 gross which is nine over par for the course and this was returned by Aidan O’Keeffe from Cobh Golf Club who played very steady golf throughout his round.

Aidan had nines of 39 and 42 shots respectively with his only birdie coming on the long 2nd hole. He completed his round with bogies on the 16th and 18th but held on by 2 shots from his nearest rivals to record an impressive victory. In second place came John McGrath who just pipped Billy Mernagh on a countback over the last nine holes. The best nett score for the day was won by Keith Richards with a 70.

Last weekend saw the second round of the Summer League completed and this was completed before the start of the
Intermediate Scratch Cup. The ladies were very much to the fore in the league with some excellent scoring. In first place came Helen Walsh with 43 points closely followed by Karan Murphy with 41 points. The only man to feature on the podium was Conor Mulholland and he was some six shots behind the winner. Helen started her round rather unimpressively with a treble bogey seven on the 1st but settled down well to record 21 points for her first nine holes. Apart from failing to register a point on the 12th, she scored a further impressive 22 points for her last nine holes.

On the Inter Club front the Ladies Miele Fourball team were well beaten by Borris on a 3½ to 1½ scoreline and this week the Men’s Duggan Cup team will take on neighbours Callan in the second round. Callan have the home advantage of the odd match of five in what should be a close encounter.

Results – Intermediate Scratch Cup Sunday 5th May

Winner Aidan O’Keeffe (14) (Cobh) 81 shots

Second John McGrath (12) (Lisheen) 83 shots

Third William Mernagh (13) (Callan) 83 shots

Best Nett Keith Richards (13) (Fermoy) 70 nett

Results – Summer League Sunday 5th May

Winner Helen Walsh (31) 43 points

Second Karan Murphy (34) 41 points

Third Conor Mulholland (17) 37 points

The last of the Golfer of the Year competitions was played last Saturday and this was the final of the McCalmont Cup match play between Amelia Drumm and Jeff Howes. Amelia was in receipt of 13 strokes based on handicaps and this proved to be too much of a burden for Jeff who had to succumb on the 17th hole, but not after a match of some drama and fluctuating scores. Amelia was 3 down after three holes and the signs were ominous but to her credit she fought back in determined fashion to turn her deficit into a winning lead of two holes after the completion of nine holes. She then continued her winning ways by standing on the 13th tee four up only to lose the long par four but hit back straight away by winning the par three 14th to be dormie in the match. But Jeff was not to capitulate so easily and he proceeded to win the 15th and 16th to reduce the deficit but to be fair to Amelia she closed out the match on the long 17th with a half to end what was a fantastic year for her and she also clinched the Golfer of the Year.

Amelia scored a total of 87 points in the G.O.Y. competition and her best six cards came to 64 and was a massive 19 points clear of her nearest challenger for the title Sandra Carr.

In the men’s section of the competition Alan Hearne was the runaway winner at the finish. He accumulated a total of 63 points and his best six cards totalled 55 points and he was 18 points clear of John Keane in second place. Congratulations to both winners on their outstanding success.

The Lady Captain’s(Margaret Twomey) Team took on the Captain’s(James J. Brett) Team in the annual challenge last Sunday with the format being over 18 holes singles stableford. The best eight cards of each team counted and the Lady Captain’s Team prevailed on the day by a score of 266 points to 260 points. Best score of the day was returned by John Browne with 39 points with Lynda Hickey returning the best score of 32 points for the ladies and Frank Kelly scoring 37 points for the men.

The last round of the Summer Series was played last week and this resulted in an emphatic win for a team of Cork based golfers from Kanturk Golf Club who returned a great score of 99 points to win by a margin of 5 shots from their nearest rivals. The winning team had scores of 50 points and 49 points respectively for each nine holes as against the runners-up score of 46 points and 48 points for their nines. The runners-up team, again almost all Cork based, got through by virtue of a better back nine holes score. The first round of the Winter series commences in October with the same format as heretofore i.e., four person team event, any combination, with two scores to count on all holes.

Results Summer Series Wednesday 21st September

Winners          M. Hickey (17) (Kanturk)

                          D. Kiely (17) (Kanturk)

                          J. Tobin (22) (Kanturk)

                          T. Walsh (16) (Kanturk)                     99 points

Runners Up   K. Anderson (17) (Fermoy)

                          J. Baker (15) (Fermoy)

                          G. Dolan (16) (Ring of Kerry)

                          K. Gould (19) (Mitchelstown)             94 points

Kanturk