Mount Juliet Golf Notes

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.

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

Success on the Inter Club scene with three teams coming through out of four teams competing.
Two teams from the ladies were in action, the Intermediate Cup team and the Challenge Cup team and both of them were successful. The Intermediate Cup team beat the ladies from Borris G.C. at Enniscorthy by a margin of 4 matches to 1 and the Challenge Cup team beat Bunclody ladies by the same margin at Rathsallagh.

Congratulations to both teams and their managers, Rita Garvey and Myra Phelan. Team Members were Mary Fulton, Jan Hyland, Myra Phelan, Helen Hedigan and Amelia Drumm in the Intermediate Cup. The Challenge Cup team comprised of Ruth Skehan, Ann Daly, Mary Cotter, Wendy Beirne and Brenda O’ Sullivan
The men’s Duggan Cup team also made a winning start to their campaign by beating New Ross but only by the odd match of five.

All five matches were close affairs with two matches winning on the 18th and a third match losing on the 19th. At New Ross ,Pat Garvey and John Browne, after a bad start, got right back in contention in their match but eventually succumbed at the 17th. Tom Duggan and Jim Cusack were in firm command for the majority of their match but the opposition fought back from dormie 2 down and New Ross just edged home on the 19th. The only winners away were Tadgh Gleeson and Kevin McCartan who won on the 17th.

At Mount Juliet Bryan Phelan and Jeff Howes won on the 18th after a titanic struggle and Terry O’ Sullivan and Sean O’ Neill just got the better of their opponents on the 17th.

The last team in action were the Pierce Purcell team in the qualifying round of the competition at Enniscorthy but sad to relate they failed to make the match play stages of the competition.

Next Sunday sees the first of the “majors” down for decision with the running of the Jack Nicklaus Trophy which is an 18 holes singles stableford.This is also a Golfer of the Year competition and extra points are available to competitors. The following Wednesday the June Ladies Invitation Day takes place and this will be a fourball betterball competition for members and their guests. Timesheets for both competitions can be obtained by phoning golf reservations or by booking “on line“.

The ladies course at Mount Juliet has now been slope rated by the authorities and has received a rating of 133. This rating now completes the ratings for both the mens(green and white) and ladies courses for the future and will be good news for our visitors.