Mount Juliet Golf Notes

The Captains Prizes were the main focus of attention last weekend and after the present inclement weather fingers were crossed for favourable conditions. Unfortunately play on the Friday evening was abandoned due to incessant rain from early morning. It meant that players who intended to play on Friday had to be fitted in on the timesheet for Saturday which was a “shotgun” start at 9am and 2pm. Glad to report that all players were accommodated which made a line-up of almost 180 people partaking on the day and to everybody’s relief, the rain stayed away all day which added to a great day’s enjoyment for all concerned with the day.

Best score on the day was in the men’s section with 39 points winning the prestigious prize and the ladie’s section was won with 34 points. The conditions on the day, after all the wet weather, made the course play very long with no run on the ball. The course, as usual, was in pristine condition and as is obvious from the scoring it suited the longer hitters on the day. Gavin Pierce returned the winning score of 39 points to clinch Alan Hoyne’s Prize on a countback from Neil Magee. Gavin had a gross 74 which is a total of two over par for the white course. On his first nine holes Gavin dropped three shots to par on the 1st, 6th and 9th holes and birdied the long 5th to be out in 38 shots which was converted to 18 points stableford. On his back nine holes he had a birdie on the 12th but dropped a shot on the 15th and scored pars the rest of the back nine holes which counted for a further 21 points. Neil had nines of 19 points and 20 points respectively and but for a double bogie, six, on the final hole would have claimed the first prize.

In the ladies section Rebecca Nixon secured victory, much to her surprise, with 34 points. Rebecca failed to score points at the 1st, 4th, 10th and 15th but scored steadily for the remaining holes to clinch victory and win Ruth Mulholland’s lovely prize. Geraldine Higgins had a winning score of 35 points but because she had not the required number of cards returned beforehand she was awarded the second prize. In third place came Nora Deane on 32 points. A very enjoyable social day was rounded off by a dinner for over 200 people in the Hunter’s Yard in a specially erected marquee for the occasion.

Results Captains’ (Alan Hoyne & Ruth Mulholland) Saturday 7th July

Men’s Section:

Winner: … Gavin Pierce(5)…………………39 points.
Second…. Neil Magee(10)…………………39 points.
Cat. 1..……Owen Phelan(10)……………….37 points.
Cat 2.……..Bill Fanning(15)………………..35 points.
Cat 3.……..Ronan Murphy(25)……………..35 points.
Gross……..Gary Walsh(Scr)..………………32 points.
Past Capt….Billy Murphy((21).……………34 points.
1st Nine……Noel O’ Halloran(14)..…………19 points.
2nd Nine……John E. Hegarty(12).…………..19 points.
Par 3’s……..Finbar O’ Neill(15).……………10 points.
Par 5’s……..Shay Quinn(14) ….…………….13 points.
Visitors…….Ben Halpenny(17).…………….35 points.

Ladies Section:

Winner:…….Rebecca Nixon(18)…………….34 points.
Second:…….Geraldine Higgins(36)………….35 points.
Third:………Nora Deane(13)………………..32 points.
Gross:………Fiona Corbett(6)………………..24 points.
Past Capt…..Brona Reidy(13).……………….31 points.
1st Nine…….Ann Daly(34).…………………..18 points.
2nd Nine……..Paula Moore(35)……………….19 points.
Par 5’s……….Helen Comerford(22)…………..11 points.
Par 3’s..……..Joan McHugh(36)……………….12 points.

Fixtures Diary:

This Wednesday is a Member/Guest day with a three person rumble scheduled to take place and next Sunday the July Monthly Medal which carries Golfer of the Year points will be played.

Last Sunday the J. B. Carr Trophy was played for in ideal conditions and this proved to be an easy win for Neil Magee who playing off a handicap of 11 had two shots to spare from his nearest rival. Neil scored 39 stableford points which puts him well on his way to his ambition of playing off single figures. Neil played very steadily throughout his round and now reduces his handicap to 9.5 as a result of his win. Runner-up was Joe Healy on 37 points and Joe in turn was a shot clear of Owen Phelan who won third place by virtue of a better back nine holes. Prizes for each nine holes were won by Gary Walsh and Hugh O’ Connor with each player scoring 20 points.

The ladies section was won by new member, Laila Balacuit, with 35 points and she was three shots clear of Fiona Corbett with Lucia O’ Flaherty in third spot. The nines were won by Sandra Carr, a daughter in law of J. B., and Helen Comerford. This is Laila’s first win at Mount Juliet and we wish her well for the reminder of the 2012 season. The perpetual trophy and prizes were presented to the winners later that evening by Georgia Carr, a grandaughter of J.B.

The Leinster Boys under 15 Team recorded their second win in the round robin series by beating Carlow Boys but have suffered defeat at the hands of Coolattin and Gowran Park in their quest for honours. The panel consists of Luke Donnelly, Conor Mulholland, John Hession, Tim Howes, Jack Collins, Ned Kirwan and Brian Staunton.

Results J. B. Carr Trophy Sunday 24th June

Men:
Winner; Neil Magee (11)……………………….39 points.
Second: Joe Healy (10)…………………………37 points.
Third: Owen Phelan (11)……………………..36 points.
1st Nine: Gary Walsh (Scr)………………………20 points.
2nd Nine: Hugh O’ Connor (6)……………………20 points.

Ladies:
Winner: Laila Balacuit (36)……………………..35 points.
Second: Fiona Corbett (6)……………………….32 points.
Third: Lucia O’ Flaherty (15)………………….31 points.
1st Nine: Sandra Carr (17)………………………..20 points.
2nd Nine: Helen Comerford (22)………………….18 points.

Next Sunday 1st July sees the next round of the Summer League down for decision and tee times can be booked through the usual channels and members are reminded that the following weekend sees the Captains’ Prizes scheduled with two “shotgun” starts at 9a.m. and 2p.m. on Saturday7th July and some tee times on Friday for players who are unable to play on Saturday.

Last Sunday the Jack Nicklaus Trophy, one of the principal competitions of the golfing year, was competed for over 18 holes singles stableford. The holder of the trophy is decided by the best score returned in both the ladie’s and men’s competition. This honour fell to Fiona Corbett who playing off 7 handicap returned an excellent 39 points which was only four shots over par for the course. She beat the men’s section winner, Finbar O’Neill who scored a fine 38 points off the white tees.

On a lovely summer-like day with a very large entry for the coveted trophy scoring was as hot as the day. Apart from Finbar who readily won the men’s section there was good scoring from Brian Blanchfield and Chris McHugh who filled the runners-up and third spots with 37 points each in this section. Finbar had nines of 18 and 20 points respectively in his very steady round and with a C.S.S. of 34 points for the day has reduced his handicap by a couple of shots.

Fiona, who is new member to the club and is sister of Amelia Drumm, certainly made her mark with a wonderful round of 77 gross for nines of 19 and 20 points respectively. Fiona had two shots to spare from her nearest rival, Brenda O’Sullivan who returned 37 points and would have won her section handsomely but for Fiona’s intervention. As in the men’s section C.S.S for the day in the ladie’s section was also 34 points. The presentation of prizes for this competition and for the monthly medals of March, April and May will take place on June 24th.

History was made last week with the first ever underage team to represent Mount Juliet taking part in the under 15 age Boys Leinster championships. This is a round robin qualifying event with teams representing Kilkenny, Gowran Park, Carlow and Coolattin in the local regional qualifying group. In the first round Mount Juliet had a comprehensive victory over near neighbours Kilkenny and now will play the remaining clubs in their group and hopefully go forward to the next winners group section. The panel consisted of Luke Donnelly, John Hession, Jack Cullen, Brian Staunton, Ned Kirwan, Tim Howes and Conor Mulholland and is managed by Jeff Howes and congratulations is deserved to the whole team.
Round 2 of the Summer League resumes this Sunday with tee times available from 08.30 to 11.00hrs.

Results Jack Nicklaus Trophy Sunday 27th May

Men

Winner; Finbar O’ Neill(16)……………………38 points.
Second: Brian Blanchfield(13)…………………37 points.
Third: Chris McHugh(16).……………………..37 points.
1st Nine. Pat Doyle(14)………………………….19 points.
2nd Nine. Ml. Collins(11)………………………..20 points.

Ladies

Winner: Fiona Corbett(7)….……………………..39 points.
Second; Brenda O’ Sullivan(31)…………………37 points.
Third; Brona Reidy(13)…………………………….32 points.
1st Nine; Helen Hedigan(20)…………………….17 points.
2nd Nine; Bernie Madigan(12)……………………19 points.