Mount Juliet Golf Notes

The last team standing in the Inter Club competitions made its exit on Monday last. The Ladies Challenge Cup team tasted defeat at the hands of the ladies from Woodenbridge Golf Club in the semi-final stage which was played at the neutral venue of Baltinglass Golf Club.

Needless to say they went down fighting but Woodenbridge were the stronger team on the day and won on a scoreline of 3½ to 1½ matches. The team and panel consisted of Brenda O’Sullivan, Wendy Beirne, Ann Murphy, Joan Pierce, Mary Cotter, Ann Daly and Dorothy Kilroy. They were managed throughout the competition by Helen Comerford and the panel and manager deserve congratulations on a fine effort to progress so far in a very keenly fought tournament.

The most recent round of the Summer Series produced some excellent scoring by the winning team comprised of four members of Portlaoise Golf Club. They scored a total of 102 points and were 12 points clear of the runners-up who all hailed from Carlow Golf Club. The entry sheet was full on the day but no one could get near the winning score. The winners had nines of 49 points and 53 points respectively and hardly put a foot wrong on their way to a convincing victory.

Last Sunday saw a Member/Guest Scotch Mixed Foursomes down for decision and this proved to be a triumph for the mother and son pairing of Tim and Sally Gleeson. They just got home from Phelim O’Connor and Helen Scully on a countback with both pairings scoring 35 points each.

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.

The only team surviving in the inter club competitions, The Ladies Challenge Cup team, played Killerig in the quarter final on Monday last with Mount Juliet hosting three of the 5 matches at home. Unfortunately for the home team there was no joy to be related at the end of the day with Killerig coming out victors on a 3/2 scoreline. The vital win was secured on the 18th at Mount Juliet by Miriam Farrell of Killerig as Mount Juliet had lost their two matches at Killerig. All the team and their manager, Helen Comerford, are to be commended for the committment and dedication given during the earlier rounds and with a small bit of luck could have gone on to reach the Semi-Final. So that ends that chapter for another year and we will look forward to better things in 2009.

The July Summer Series was played last Wednesday and a full turnout of teams participated with the honours for the day going to the team comprising of members of Craddockstown and Black Bush golf clubs. Conditions were ideal for scoring but again most of the players found the course playing to it’s full length. The winning score of 92 points just beat the combination of Boystown, South County and The Heath players by a shot with a team from the Rebel County a further point behind. The winners had nines of 47 and 45 points respectively whereas the runner-up had nines of 46 and 45 points. The crucial hole was the long par five ,17th, where the winners scored an eagle and a birdie to record seven points whereas the runners-up had a total of 5 points with two pars. Special mention has to be made to our sponsors for the competition, Golf Andalucia, who provided magnificent prizes for the day to the lucky players who won.

Results July Summer Series:

Winners:

Frank Byrne(8) – Craddockstown G.C.
Alan Kavanagh(12)
Barry Mc Carthy(12)
Nicky Power(6)- Black Bush G.C
92 points.

Second:

Pamela Harrington(32) – Boystown G.C.
Philip Wardick(10)
Shay Doherty(9) – South County G.C.
Michael Whelan(16) – The Heath G.C
91 points

Third:

Mathew Geaney(17) – Kanturk G.C.
Derek O’ Donovan(14) – Fermoy G.C.
Eamon O’ Sullivan(14) – East Cork G.C.
Peter Gibney(20) – Kanturk G.C
90 points.

Fourth:

Jim Walsh(10) – Gowran Park G.C.
Mick Walsh(10) – St. Helens Bay G.C.
Ger Walsh(9)
Les Walsh(7)
88 points.
Our Next Summer Series competition is Tuesday 8th July sponsored by Coca Cola.
The 8th of July event is now full, but a wait list is in operation. Places are still available for the 12th August and 1st September events and as usual tee times can be booked by phoning 056/7773064 or 7773071