Interclub News

Well it was a big ask and in the end our Under 15s weren’t able to pull off a “miracle in Malahide” this afternoon despite their best efforts.

The task was made as difficult as it was by virtue of the agonising defeat in the first home leg of the final in Greystones earlier this month when we lost 4:1. On that day Marc Lawless lost out by a margin of 3&2, William O’Riordan went down 4&3 while both Jamie Anderson and Dylan Holmes both lost their matches on the eighteenth.  Jack McGovern held firm on the day to clinch a 2&1 win to give a glimmer of hope to the team.  The real difference on the day was on the greens with the Malahide players coming to grips with our greens from the get-go while our players seemed to struggle.

To be fair the team set off today for Malahide full of fight and determination to not roll over and to their credit each and everyone of them gave their all over the two legs.

To make matters worse for the team Jack McGovern had to withdraw from the team for the second leg of the match due to a shoulder injury.

First out today was once again Marc Lawless who was getting three shots.  Marc started well with a win on the first but his opponent found his rhythm and got himself into a good position with wins on the third, forth and sixth holes to go two up.  Marc pegged him back to one up with a good win on the seventh but the Malahide man responded with wins on the eighth and ninth to get to three up. The tenth and eleventh were traded and then Marc pushed hard claiming both the twelfth and thriteenth holes to be back within touching distance. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be Marc’s day and loses on fourteen and fifteen sealed the deal for Malahide 3&2.

Our second man out today was Toby Murphy who didn’t play in the first leg but has been a stalwart of the team over the season. Toby was giving three shots to his opponent and it was nip and tuck for the first nine holes with Toby winning the second and fifth while his opposite number won the third and the seventh.  All square after nine holes.

Our number three today was Jamie Anderson who made it clear from the off that he was going to do his damnedest to avenge his loss from the first leg with wins on the first two holes. He wasn’t going to have it all his own way however. He lost the third and won the fifth before loosing the seventh for the match to be all square through seven.  Wins on eight and eleven saw him back in control however and he was playing some very solid golf.

William O’Riordan struggled a bit today off the tee and despite and excellent win the the second and a stunning half on the forth involving a fantastic up and down, found himself one down after five and three down and the turn.  Despite his very best efforts he wasn’t able to recover and his opponent only needed and half on the tricky fourteenth to win the match 5&4.

Almost simultaneously, Toby, after a very difficult back nine watched as his opponent, not for the first time on the day, held a raker of a putt on the fifteenth to win the match 4&3.

The top match saw a rematch for Dylan Holmes who was once again giving one shot to his opposition.  This was a match of the highest quality with holes being won and halved with birdies. Malahide took the early lead and were two up through four holes but Dylan steadied the ship and more with wins on the fifth, sixth and eighth holes to go one up.  Malahide won the ninth to have an even match once again standing on the tenth teebox.  There was nothing to separate either player over the first three holes of the back nine but Dylan who, like Jamie was eager to avenge his loss in the first leg, hit some magnificent shots to win the thirteenth and fourteenth and held a two hole lead with four to play when called in.

Jamie halved the twelfth and but a fine win on the thirteenth had him three up with five left to play.  He and his opponent halved the fourteenth and Jamie was looking odds on to win his match on the fifteenth when called in.

All in all we should be extremely proud of this team and they have certainly given us lots of great golfing moments this year.  Hard luck to managers Peter Anderson & Karl Holmes and to the entire squad.

Liam O’Shea and Pat Barry lead their Super Seniors to the final this afternoon with a great win against Beech Park in the semis.

First out at home were Ray Hogan & Julian Pollard in this scotch foursomes competition and they started solidly halving the first three holes before wins on four & five had their noses in front.  Their opposition fought back winning the seventh & eight holes to bring the match back to all square.  Ray & Julian were giving two shots and halved the ninth and also the tenth while giving a shot.  This must have felt like a win and they quickly followed up with wins on the eleventh & twelfth to go back to two up.

Alan O’Sullivan & Jim F. Ryan teed it up in the second home match and they started strongly winning the first , fourth and sixth holes to be three up.  The Beech Park players were holding some great putts however and this was the difference on the seventh & eighth holes which they won.  It looked like all the world that Alan & Jim were going to restore their lead to two up on the ninth but Beech Park made an amazing up and down from nowhere to half the hole and we turned one up. Alan & Jim were up against a canny pair and although they were getting five shots, lost the tenth while getting a shot to go all square and also lost twelve to find themselves one down for the first time in the match.

Our final pair at home were Eddie Joynt & Denis Cromie and like Alan & Jim they won the first. Eddie & Denis were giving three shots and lost the third while giving one of these.  This loss on three was followed by wins on the fourth and the fifth and a loss on the sixth where they gave their second shot.  Two shots gone and still one up after six holes was a good return.  Beech Park won eight but Eddie & Denis playing some very steady golf won the ninth to turn one up.  They gave their last shot on ten and lost the hole giving Beech Park the honour on the eleventh. The second Beech Park player stood up and hit a fantastic three wood straight at the pin, two hops and it rolled up to the hole before dropping in for a hole in one.  Nothing that could be done on this hole and Eddie & Denis, much like Alan & Jim found themselves one down for the first time in the match.

Away from home both Greystones pairs were also giving shots.  Cathal Cooney & Jerry Teehan were giving two while our final pairing of Sean Hynes and (  back from team golf retirement – “for one day only” – no chance ) Jimmy Hackman had to give five shots away from home.  Reports from the course were that the greens were very fast and very tricky and early signs were not good.  Cathal & Jerry were two down through five and Jimmy & Sean were two down after four.  Cathal & Jerry have been excellent for this whole campaign and wins on seven and eight brought the match back to all square before a Beech Park win on the tenth.  The Greystones pair were not phased by this and won the eleventh and twelfth holes to go back to one up. Holes thirteen and fourteen were halved and Cathal & Jerry won fifteen before loosing sixteen to be one up with three to play.  An excellent half on seventeen had them dormie and they held their nerve to win the final hole and get Greystones our first point on the board.

Jimmy & Sean steadied their particular ship after their tricky start with halves on the fifth, sixth and seventh before winning eight and nine to go back to all square.  This match looked like to was going to be very tight with all the holes from ten to thirteen halved.

Meanwhile back at home, Ray & Julien were battling hard and halved both the thirteenth & fourteenth before claiming the fifteenth to go three up with three to play.  Ray hot a great shot to the back of the sixteenth and Julien rolled the ball past the hole to leave Ray a testy three footer for the match.  Ray obliged and Greystones had two matches in the bag.

Alan & Jim had got their match back to all square with a win on fourteen but losses on the fifteenth and sixteenth saw them dormie two down and a loss on the seventeenth which included a visit to the water gave Beech Park their first point of the day by a margin of 3&1.

All eyes turned to the final home game where Eddie & Denis were hoping to recover from the Beech Park hole in one on the eleventh.  They halved the twelfth and gave no quarter on thirteen and fourteen both of which they won. Another half on the fifteenth kept them one up with three to play.  On the sixteenth Eddie hit the green while both Beech Park players found themselves in bunkers.  They failed to get up and down and Eddie & Denis made a strong two putt to get to dormie two up.

While all this was happening Jimmy & Sean were turning on the style away from home.  Knowing that they would be giving a shot on the 18th they needed to try to finish their match before then.  A string on wins from the fourteenth to the sixteenth closed their match out 3&2 and sealed the tie for Greystones.

This was a fantastic result for the team. It’s not usual to get two away wins while giving shots ….

Congratulations to all involved.  Next up is the final which will be held in a neutral venue ( Elm Park ) – date TBC