Mount Juliet Golf Notes

The May Monthly Medal was played for last Sunday and the best score of the day was returned by Hugh O’ Connor who won with a fine score of 74 gross or 40 points when converted into the stableford system. Hugh had four bogies on the 1st, 7th, 12th and 16th holes in his round but he also recovered somewhat from these dropped shots with two birdies at the 3rd and 13th holes.This earned the category 1 medal and all three other categories were won with 33 points. In category 2(12-16) the winner was John Hegarty who just got home on a countback as did Amelia Drumm in the ladies category and the winner of category 3(17-28) was Brian Nevin. All players earned Golfer of the Year points with Hugh earning 12 points in his quest for the elusive title.

Results; May Monthly Medal

Category 1. Hugh O’ Connor(6)……………..40 points.

Category 2. John Hegarty(12)…………………33 points.

Category 3. Brian Nevin(17)……………………33 points

Ladies. Amelia Drumm(17)……………….33 points.

Results; Ladies Invitation Day

Winners: Catherine O’ Halloran(29)
Susan O’ Loughlin(19)
Elizabeth McCalmont(35)
Elaine Lawlor(33)………………..88 points.

Second: Pauline McEnery(34)
Ann Marie Byrne(33)
Helen Cosgrove(14)
Liz Hurley(29)…………………….82 points.

Third: Helen Costello(6)
Lucia Ahern O Flaherty(14)
Liz beatty(15)
Joan Kelly(14)…………………….81 points.

The first round of the Summer League took place last Sunday and the convincing winner was P.J. Alyward with a score of 39 points. P.J. had nines of 20 and 19 points respectively and had a shot to spare over Jack Condron who returned 38 points. Jack had nines of 18 and 20 points respectively for his round and he in turn had a shot to spare from Tim Kavanagh.The next round of the Summer League is scheduled for Sunday June 3rd. In between there are the competitions for the May Monthly Medal next Sunday which will be followed by a Member/Guest Fourball Stableford on Sunday 20th and then the Jack Nicklaus Trophy is down for decision on Sunday 27th May. The May Medal competition and the Jack Nicklaus Trophy day carry Golfer of the Year points. This Wednesday sees the May Ladies Invitation Day with the Men’s Invitation Day the following Wednesday on 16th May.
The Irish Mixed Foursomes team suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Carlow in the 2nd round of the competition and unfortunately are now eliminated. All three matches at Carlow were lost together with the two home matches at Mount Juliet. The next men’s team in action are the Pierce Purcell team and they face a very difficult task in the regional qualifying round.
On Friday 25th May the annual charity team day to raise funds for the Special Olympics will take place and deserves support. Over the past few years it has proved to be a very popular day for competitors and has raised badly needed funds for a deserving cause.

The April Medal was played for last Sunday and it produced the biggest entry of competitors for a long number of years. The scoring matched the entry with 39 points leading the field on a dry but crisp day with a “bite” in the prevailing north easterly wind. The scoring was led by Alan Hearn who returned 39 points in category 1 which was followed by 38 points both in category 2 and in the ladies section. The remaining category was won by Brian Nevin with a steady score of 35 points. Because of the difficult conditions the C.S.S. for the day was reduced to 34 points for all categories and consequently there was a number of players who had their handicaps adjusted accordingly. As this medal competition also counted as a qualifier for the club match-play the cut off for the 32 men who qualified was 30 points with two players getting through on 29 points. The sixteen ladies who made their match-play stages qualified on 27 points or better.

Alan Hearne scored nines of 20 and 19 points respectively for a round of 39 points and in the process gained some valuable points in his quest to regain Golfer of the Year. In category 2 , Shay Quinn, led the field with two nines of 19 points and this was equalled by Lynda Hickey in the ladies section. Lynda scored nines of 18 and 20 points respectively in her fine round.

The draw for the match-play stages is posted on the notice board and full details will appear in next week’s edition. The first round of the match-play will have to be completed by 31st May with the top named player to contact his/her opponent.
On the inter club scene two more teams unfortunately made their exit in the first round with the defeat of the Leinster Men’s Fourball team at the hands of Waterford and the Barton Cup team going down to neighbours Callan. Both teams were decisively beaten in their respective matches on a scoreline of 4/1.

This week the annual Spring maintenance programme is going ahead so the course will not re-open until this Thursday for play.

Results April Monthly Medal Sunday 15th April

Category 1. Alan Hearne(8)……………. 39 points
Category 2. Shay Quinn(15)…………….38 points
Category 3. Brian Nevin(17)……………35 points
Ladies. Lynda Hickey(21)………………  38 points