Mount Juliet Golf Notes

The Ladies Challenge Cup team were in action against Wexford and the venue was Waterford Castle. The overall result was a great win for Mount Juliet by a margin of 3 matches won to 2 matches lost.

Mary Cotter started the winning ball rolling with a convincing victory by a margin of 6 and 5 against her opponent. Then Brenda O’Sullivan kept the winning mood going when she won on the 16th green against her opponent. In between these two victories, Anne Murphy lost her match also on the 16th green and Joan Pierce was having a great battle with her opponent and was one down on the 17th tee. But Wendy Beirne closed out her match with a long putt on the 16th green for a winning margin of 3 and 2. Joan eventually lost on the 17th green but at that stage the important victory was secure. The team now progress to the semi-final on the 25th July against the winners of Woodenbridge or Tara Glen with a neutral venue to be decided. The team is managed by Helen Comerford and is ably assisted by another member of the panel, Dorothy Kilroy, who with Anne Daly completes the full team panel. Hopefully the team can progress to the final for the first time in the history of the club.

The competition for both Golfer of the Year Trophies is hotting up with Alan Hearne just a point in front of Kevin McCartan in the men’s section. In joint third place some seven points adrift of the leader, is John Keane and John Barrett.

The ladies division is led by Sally Gleeson with 41 points and she is five points clear of Amelia Drumm with Liz Beatty some points adrift in third place. This weekend sees the Captains’ Prizes down for decision in both categories and with bonus points on offer in both competitions the Golfers of the Year could easily be decided. A bumper entry will compete for the most coveted prizes of the year with the presentations taking place in Kendals Restaurant after dinner on Saturday night.

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

On Friday last the fundraiser for the Special Olympics was held which included golf, dinner in Kendals Brasserie Restaurant and the evening concluded with an auction of sporting memorabilia and other items.

The auction was conducted by former rugby international, Fergus Slattery, and although it did not take too long to auction all items, it greatly contributed to a very deserving cause in helping some of our athletes to partake in the Special Olympics. Full credit to the chief organiser of the event, Norman Kilroy, a former captain of the club and a person who gives his time every year to run the events of the day. Over €30,000 was raised on the day and this will be added to the overall fund to cover the enormous costs of sending the Irish team to the games.

Last Sunday saw the May competition for Member/Guest decided and the format was a fourball stableford. The winning score of 42 points was returned by Pat Price Sr., and his guest David Kelly. They were two points clear of their nearest rivals Michael Williams and Aidan McDonald. Because of the inclement weather and the recovery rate of some players who played on Friday, the entry for this competition was smaller than usual.

Next Thursday sees the next round of the Summer Series which an open competition for teams of four players. Tee times can be obtained for this competition by phoning golf reservations or the golf shop.

On Sunday next the first of the “majors” is down for decision with the running of the Jack Nicklaus Trophy. This singles competition will count for points in the Golfer of the Year for men and ladies.

On the Inter Club scene, the Duggan Cup team are due to meet our neighbours Gowran Park on Friday next.

May Member & Guest Fourball Sunday 22nd May

Winners

Pat Price Snr. (14)

David Kelly (7) (Malahide) 42 points

Second

Michael Williams (20)

Aidan McDonald (6) (Kilkenny) 40 points