Mount Juliet Golf Notes

A very busy weekend at Mount Juliet saw the Pro-Am take place on Friday last with the top 30 Irish professionals teaming up with 30 teams of three amateurs to play over 18 holes for valuable prizes. This was followed by the Lexus Race to Mount Juliet on Saturday and this was the last round of the order of merit for the members of the Irish P.G.A. with an impressive €50,000 up for grabs.

On Sunday the Member/Guest competition took place and like the professional tournament of Saturday both sections of this competition was won with an impressive score as well. The final round of Ladies Invitation days took place on Wednesday last also. Plenty of golf with the condition of the course coming in for loud praise from the professionals and amateurs alike.

A great week of golf was enjoyed by the Lady Captain, Sally Gleeson, who featured in the three competitions on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Sally led her team to victory on Wednesday in the 3 person rumble on Lady Invitation day. She then proceeded to be third in the pro-am on Friday and was second in the 18 holes singles on Sunday.

On Friday last the Pro-Am was won by a team from Lexus with 93 points led by professional, John Dignam. In second place with 90 points came the team led by Robert Giles who just beat the Mount Juliet team on a countback. The format of the team event was two scores to count on each hole and a very enjoyable day was had by all with the day finishing with a dinner in Kendals Restaurant with after dinner entertainment by Barry Murphy of Aprés Match fame.

On Sunday the member/guest 18 holes singles was played for and after an initial delay of nearly 2 hours, due to frost, all players got finished with some hot scoring deciding the outcome of the prizes. Best score of the day was returned by Brendan Meehan from Galway who had a remarkable 43 points. This score was made up of nines of 21 and 22 points respectively. Brendan was level par for seventeen holes and the only slip-up he made was at the 15th where he failed to score. He just edged out Liam Brett from Callan by a point and this result could have been reversed if Liam had scored on the 15th or the 18th where he drew blanks on both holes.

The ladies section was won by young Darcey Carr who returned an impressive score of 40 points off her handicap of 9. The good weather meant a great turnout of competitors for all competitions last week.

Results Ladies Invitation Day 3 Person Rumble
Wednesday 13th October

Winners

Sally Gleeson (14)

Judy Daly (14) Little Island G.C.

Anna Maloney (9) Clonmel G.C. 79 points

Second

Brona Reidy (13)

Maeve O’Reilly (14) Powerscourt G.C.

Edel Barron (12) Powerscourt G.C. 78 points

Third

Helen Scully (19)

Ann O’Shea (12) Powerscourt G.C.

Siobhan Fahey (14) Powerscourt G.C. 72 points

Results Member/Guest 18 holes Singles
Sunday 17th October

Men

Winner Brendan Meehan (9) Galway G.C. 43 points
Second Liam Brett (18) Callan G.C. 42 points
Third Bryan Phelan (15) 39 points

Ladies

Winner Darcey Carr (9) Milltown G.C. 40 points
Second Sally Gleeson (14) 37 points

The Ladies Invitation Day for June took place last Wednesday and with the weatherman smiling kindly on all participants, a good day was had by all competitors. Scoring was very close with only a shot separating the three prizewinning partnerships. The format was a fourball betterball stableford with the winners returning a score of 38 points. Sandra Carr and her partner Pauline Ann Murray just got the better of the pairing of Lady Captain, Sally Gleeson, and her partner Jeanie Ronan who in turn beat Brenda O’Sullivan and her partner Pauline McEnery on a countback.

In the McCalmont Cup Matchplay, the competition has reached the quarter-final stage. Match pairings are as follows; Kathyrn O’Connor v Paul Barrett, Michael Brennan v Pat Price Jr., Helen Scully v John O’ Connor, Chris McHugh v Ruth Skehan with all four matches to be played by the 30th June.

Next Sunday sees the J. B. Carr Trophy down for decision with sections for both the ladies and men with Golfer of the Year points on offer to both sections. Preparations are in full flow for the Captains Prizes which will take place on Saturday 26th June. A limited number of tee times will be available on the Friday evening prior to the event for Juniors and to accommodate members who cannot play on the Saturday.

Results June Ladies Invitation Day

The next round in the popular Summer Series for teams of four competitors takes place on Wednesday 16th June and reservations can be made by phoning the golf shop or golf reservations at 056/7773071 or 7773064.

Mount Juliet have introduced a new Summer offer to players who wish to visit “a little bit of heaven“ for a day of recreation.

For €90 (Sunday-Thursday) and €100 (Friday and Saturday), interested golfers can avail of:

- a basket of range golf balls
- a round on the unique 18 hole putting course designed by Jeff Howes
- a snack on the 10th tee
- 18 holes of golf on the Jack Nicklaus designed championship golf course

Some good scoring was recorded on the weekend with the first of the “majors” decided last Sunday. The overall winner of the Jack Nicklaus Trophy was Gerard Magee who returned a fine score of 40 points off the white tees, with a tricky breeze blowing making the course play its full length of 7000 yards. The scoring in this competition was very good with a number of competitors failing to get on the prize winners sheet with 38 points.

As a result, in the men’s section the standard scratch score for the day was increased to 36 points for the first time in nearly 12 months. A total of 13 golfers had 36 points or better in their round and the winner, Gerard, scored 20 points respectively for each nine holes and this included a par four on the 13th hole where he scored 4 points. Gerard won by two shots from Stephen Price, who further enhanced his chances of winning Golfer of the Year by scoring 12 points in his quest to win the trophy again.

In third place, came the Captain, Jim Cusack, with another 38 points only losing out for second place on the last six holes. He pipped Hugh O’Connor for third place by virtue of his last six holes as well. All three players who won the minor prizes scoring 20 points on the last nine holes.

In the ladies section Mary O’Neill was a convincing winner with 37 points and her score comprised of nines of 21 points and 16 points respectively. Mary had a very consistent round by scoring at every hole and only faltered slightly on the last nine holes. Mary had two shots to spare over Helen Scully with Mary Fulton a further shot back.

In the Golfer of the Year competitions, Stephen Price has taken a commanding lead over his nearest challenger and former leader, Kevin McCartan, but with plenty of competitions still to come. Amelia Drumm holds all the aces in the ladies section and will prove difficult to catch if she continues to hold her form.

The Ladies Invitation Day for June takes place this Wednesday and on Sunday 13th June the J.B. Carr Trophy will be played. This trophy will honour the memory of the illustrious Joe, a former President of the Club for many years. The competition, as usual, will be an 18 holes singles with the best score of the day receiving the trophy.

Jack Nicklaus Trophy Results Sunday 30th May

Winner Gerard Magee (19) 40 points

Second Stephen Price (8) 38 points

Third Jim Cusack (13) 38 points

1st Nine Phelim O’Connor (15) 21 points

2nd Nine Alan Flanagan (12) 21 points

Ladies

Winner Mary O’Neill (33) 37 points

Second Helen Scully (19) 35 points

Third Mary Fulton (18) 34 points