Pitch & Putt Ireland2017 Year in Review: Day Three
Remaining events from the year
In the final part of his National Review of 2017, John Manning rounds up the remaining events from the season gone by.
U-16 & U-20 Weekend
Castletown’s Evan Carry scored 98 at Erry to become only the third ever multiple winner of the National Under 16 Boys’ Strokeplay. Evan is just the second player in history to win the Boys Strokeplay in successive years and the first to achieve this feat since Barry O’Neill’s three-timer in the late 90’s. Evan repeated his 2016 five stroke winning margin, this time over Dominic Scully (Erry), who was the first player representing a Co. Offaly club to finish second in the National Boys Strokeplay championship. Dominic Scully is also the first player to be runner-up in the National Boys’ Strokeplay over his home course since Ger Mara at Bagenalstown in 1998. Jack Mullins (Kilbeggan) shot 104 to be the third Leinster winner of the National Boys Strokeplay (10-13) championship in the past nine years.
Cork returned a team total of 409 on their way to a 18th Juvenile Inter-County win, which widens the Rebels’ advantage at the top of the Tommy Murphy Cup Roll of Honour. Kerry (with 415) moved up to nine runners-up places in the Juvenile Inter-County championship, second on that ranking, ahead of Dublin. Kerry have finished second to Cork six times in the National Juvenile Inter-County championship. Cian Murphy, Iain Aherne & Glenn Towler become the latest Cork players to hold two National Juvenile Inter-County winners' medals. Keith Crowley has three.
Cian Morrison was fifth in the 2013 National Under 16 Strokeplay at Raffeen Creek but made no mistake in the inaugural Under 20 equivalent at Erry. The 2014 Under 16 Inter-County winner from Douglas scored successive 48s to beat Old County’s Ross O’Reilly (a 2015 Under 16 Inter-County champion with Dublin) by five.
U-16 Matchplay
Seanie Bellew (Castletown) beat Iain Aherne (Ballinlough) at the 38th in the National U-16 Matchplay final at St. Stephen’s to become the first Leinster winner. Aaron Roche of the host club became the first Munster winner of the National Boys' Matchplay championship Plate, with a 3&2 final victory over Deerpark’s Adam Kelly.
National Mixed Foursomes
Marie O'Toole and Ted Flynn scored +13 at Lucan on August 26th to become the fifth pair in history to win the National Mixed Foursomes over their home course. Marie won Best Gross (with Tony Bolger) in the National Mixed Foursomes when it was previously contested at Lucan in 2005. 2013 Dublin Mixed Foursomes winners Tracey Smith and Anthony Malone (Lucan) narrowly failed to add the 2017 National Mixed Foursomes title, finishing second on +12. The last time the champions and the Best Gross winners at the National Mixed Foursomes in a single year represented the same club was at Lucan in 2005, also at Lucan.
Brenda Purcell won Best Gross at the National Mixed Foursomes with Terry McMorrow seven years after she won the event with Paul Dillon at R.G.S.C. It's the first time in National Mixed Foursomes history that the first, second and Best Gross pairs in a single year have been from the same club. Marie O’Toole and Ted Flynn secured a third National Mixed Foursomes win for Lucan as the 12th Lock club became the fourth venue (following Ierne, Tullamore and Fermoy) to host the National Mixed Foursomes on three occasions.
Inter-County
In September, Ryston (Irish Ropes) held the Inter-County for the third time. That's joint third on the all-time list with Portmarnock, Rocklodge and Tullamore. Kildare won the ladies championship in a canter - their winning margin of 33 shots was the highest in the Ladies Inter-County since Dublin at Glenville in 1987. Kildare’s 557 aggregate secured their tenth National Ladies Inter-County win, which consolidates second place on the Roll of Honour.
Marian Courtney has played on every one of those Lilywhites winning teams. Tara Dillon took her ninth Inter-County winners medal, Chrissie Byrne and Margaret Keogh an eighth apiece, Mairead O'Toole a fourth and Mary Donnelly her third.
Ray Murphy helped Cork to a team tally of 765 and a five-stroke winning margin over holders Dublin in the Gents Inter-County. Ray was securing a remarkable 15th Inter-County winners medal (a new record) 20 years after he won his first, at Larkspur Park in 1997. Cork move on to 22 National Inter-County championship wins, extending the Rebels' lead at the top of the all-time list. John Cahill has now accumulated ten National Gents Inter-County wins, Bryan Delaney six, Frank Dineen five, Darren Collins four and Declan Freeman one.
In a sixth podium finish in a row for the boys in blue, Dublin were second in the National Gents Inter-County for the 13th time, which consolidates their position at the top of that particular list. Third-placed Louth finished in the top three at the National Gent's Inter-County championship for the third successive year.
Congratulations to Waterford on a history making third successive National Inter-County Division B title. No other county has even managed two. Daniel Sullivan, Eddie Hennessy, Noel and Brian Farrell have played on all three Waterford winning teams. Sean Hennebry and Ian Flynn were on board for two each.
Carlow's second place in the National Inter-County Division B is the Barrowsiders' best performance since runners-up overall to Meath in 1987. Longford finished in the top three of the National Inter-County Championship Division B for the third year in succession.
*For a look back on the National Inter-Club event, read John’s feature in our most recent edition of Backspin.
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