Mount Juliet Golf Notes

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

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.

Padraig and Wendy hit the high spots

Last weekend saw the Captains’ Prizes decided for the ladies and men of the club and it proved to be a triumph for both Wendy Beirne and Padraig Slattery as they captured the respective prizes. For Wendy, this was her first big prize as she has only taken up the game more seriously this year and now that she has made the big breakthrough she will hopefully go on to even more success and enjoyment. For Padraig, this is his first Captain’s Prize at Mount Juliet but, as an accomplished golfer, he won his well known father’s (Brud) prize at Lahinch nearly twenty years ago.

On a lovely sunny day, but with a stiff breeze blowing making the back nine holes a stern test, there was a great turnout for both categories and good scoring was the order of the day.

Wendy just got home by a shot from her nearest pursuer, Mary Quigley, with both ladies returning fine scores of 41 and 40 points respectively. Wendy was the essence of consistency with nines of 22 and 19 points and she had no disaster but scored on every hole in her round. Mary had nines of 18 and 22 points for her nines but must rue her chances on the 6th, 7th and 8th holes where she only scored a point on each one of these holes. At the end of a long day Wendy, as she played early in the morning, held on for the deserved first prize.

Padraig, unlike Wendy, played at the end of the field and was one of the last to finish, so he had not to endure too many nail biting minutes before he knew his fate. Padraig, playing very steady golf throughout his round, failed to score on the short 3rd where he met with trouble and dropped shots at the 4th and 8th on his first nine holes but recorded birdies at the 5th, 8th holes to counter. On the back nine he dropped another shot on the long 16th but had already remedied this by scoring a birdie on the par four, 13th hole. Padraig had plenty of opposition but just won on a countback from Hugh O’Connor and John Thompson with a number of other contestants champing at his heels. As usual there were plenty of hard luck stories but at the end of the day Padraig was a deserving winner to return such a fine score off a low handicap.

Inter Club News

Two teams were in action last week and there was a 50% measure of success. The men’s Duggan Cup team beat neighbours Castlecomer by 3½ to 1½ in a very tight match with the two matches at Castlecomer going to the 19th before a decision was reached. Two matches out of three played at Mount Juliet were won so the all important result was at Castlecomer. This team now progress to the quarter-final and play either Carlow or Gowran Park. The ladies Miele Fourball team were beaten by former All Ireland winners, Faithlegg, but not after a great struggle.

Upcoming Events: Ladies Invitation Day on Wednesday 7th July and the July Monthly Medal will take place on Sunday 11th July and timesheets for both competitions are now open on line and by phone.

Results Captains’ Prizes Saturday 26th June