Mount Juliet Golf Notes

Last week there was a bag of mixed luck on the Inter Club front with two ladies teams in action. The Challenge Cup team were pitted against Kilkenny Golf Club at the neutral venue of Callan and they came out on top by a margin of 3½ matches to 1½ matches. The format of the competition was 5 singles and Mary Cotter, Ann Murphy and Wendy Beirne all won their respective matches with Dorothy Kilroy securing a half in her match. While on the course. Brenda O’Sullivan lost narrowly to her opponent.

The All Ireland Fourball team lost narrowly to the ladies of Carrick-on-Suir Golf Club but only on a countback. In this competition two pairs play at home and two pairs play away. While our two home pairs achieved victory, the away players lost and on a countback of holes won and lost, Mount Juliet came out on the wrong end. The pairings were Helen Scully/Ruth Skehan and Helen Hedigan/Mary Fulton, both of these pairings played at Mount Juliet. At Carrick-on-Suir, the pairings were Sally Gleeson/Jon Hegarty and Myra Phelan/Rita Garvey. It is interesting to note that Helen and Ruth were 5 down after nine holes but recovered for a great victory on the 18th.

Next Sunday sees the running of the J.B. Carr Trophy in memory of our former illustrious President Joe, and this is a Golfer of the Year competition with extra points available.

On Tuesday next the open Summer Series for teams of four players continues and reservations for tee times can be made by phoning 056 7773071.

Last Sunday saw the May Monthly Medal decided with fine, cloudy, weather and a tricky wind for players to contend with. However the scoring was good with Kevin McCartan returning the best score of the day in the men’s section and Sally Gleeson almost matching his score in the ladies category.

Kevin had nines of 21 and 18 points respectively to beat John Barrett by a shot in category 2. The other categories were won by Hugh O’Connor and Frank Kelly, both players scoring 36 points each to edge home from the opposition. This is Hugh’s second medal this year and he is obviously retaining his early season form. Sally just got the better of Amelia Drumm in the ladies section and consequently both players are leading contenders in the Golfer of the Year competition. In the G.O.Y competition for the men, the leader now is Kevin McCartan as a result of his achievement over last weekend, and he is 3 points clear of his nearest rival, Alan Hearne, who in turn is 2 points clear of Stephen Price and John Barrett.

In the ladies section, Amelia Drumm and Liz Beatty top the table on 20 points and they in turn are 3 points clear of Ruth Skehan and Sally Gleeson. The C.S.S. for Sunday was 36 points for the men and 37 points for the ladies.

Last Wednesday the Ladies Invitation Day for May took centre stage and the format was a 4 person scramble. Myra Phelan led her team to success with 84 points and they just pipped the team led by Lady Captain, Margaret Twomey, with Elizabeth McCalmont’s team in third place.

On the Inter Club front, the Pierce Purcell foursomes team made their exit in the qualifying round at Borris G.C. last week. On a day of disappointment, the pairing of Kevin McCartan and Alan Hearne returned the best score of the day with a score of 81 gross. Unfortunately the rest of the pairings failed to match this fine score and as a consequence failed to make the knockout stages of the competition. The full team comprised of Alan Hearne/Kevin McCartan, Pat Doyle/Tim Kavanagh, John Barrett/Tadhg Gleeson, Terry Sullivan/Frank Kelly and Terry O’Reilly/John Browne.

May Monthly Medal

Ladies Invitation Day Wednesday 11th May – 4 Person Scramble

Tipperary to the fore again!

The last of the “majors” was played for on Saturday and it foretold pending doom for Kilkenny with the winning of the President’s (Des Fitzgerald) Prize by Tipperary member, Tadhg Gleeson, and he did it as convincing as the hurlers did. Tadhg, who was Captain of Mount Juliet in 2005 and had never won a competition in his long association with the club, like the hurlers certainly came good on the day that mattered. He spreadeagled the large entry of competitors with a stunning round of 45 points off the white markers to win easing up.

The President’s Prize for the ladies was played in conjunction with the men’s prize and this proved to be a family affair with Des’s wife, Brenda, winning the honours by the narrowest of margins from Tadhg‘s daughter Sarah. Snapping at both players heels came Nora Deane just a point behind with Tadhg’s wife, Sally, a further point behind Nora in fourth place.

Tadhg had nines of 23 and 22 points respectively on each nine holes and had a total of 11 pars with the remainder of his round comprised of 7 bogies off his handicap of 16 which has now been reduced to 13 as the S.S. for the day was 35 points. I am sure that little adjustment is the least of Tadhg’s worries after his great victory and Tipperary‘s All Ireland. In second place came Paul Barrett who is certainly playing very consistent golf at the moment which he indicated by almost winning the last competition played.

Brenda played very good golf as well and but for failing to score on the short par three 11th, she would have reached the 40 point mark. This was her only hole not to register a point at, which was an indication of her consistency. Congratulations to both Tadhg and Brenda on their achievements and Brenda still has a chance of the double if she wins the Lady President’s Prize in October.

As a result of the weekend results, the Golfer of the Year competitions in both categories has tightened up considerably with only the September medal to decide the outcome. At the top of the men’s competition, Stephen Price and Michael Brennan are locked together on 36 points and they are just in front of Alan Hearne who has 35 points.

In the ladies section, Amelia Drumm is 5 points clear of Ruth Skehan but both can improve their total by featuring in the September Medal next Sunday and a top three finish by either player could decide the winner.

Last Wednesday the Ladies Invitation for September took place and this was a fourball betterball competition with the usual good entry. The winners of this competition were Myra Phelan and her visitor from Milltown, Helen Cosgrove, who had 40 points. They just beat the mother and daughter combination of Sandra and Darcey Carr, also Milltown, by a point. The Kilkenny and Borris visitors came up trumps in the nines.

Forthcoming fixtures include the September Medal next Sunday and the last of the Summer Series, which as usual is a team of four event, takes place next Wednesday 15th September. The Winter Series is scheduled to commence on the 20th October. Bookings for any of these competitions may be made by phoning 056 7773071 or 7773064.

President’s (Des Fitzgerald) Prize, Saturday 4th
September 2010

Ladies Invitation Day, Wednesday 1st September 2010

Next Sunday the September Medal is down for decision