2020 National Strokeplay Facts & Figures

John Manning runs through the significance of weekend

2020 National Strokeplay Facts & Figures image

2020 National Strokeplay Facts & Figures

By John Manning

Gents

Shane Murphy becomes the 16th player in history to win both the National Gent's Strokeplay and National Gent's Matchplay Shane is also the fifth former Intermediate Champion in history to go on to be senior champion. He is the first National Gents Senior Strokeplay champion to represent Rocklodge since Mick Forrest also won at St. Anne’s in 1976.

Frank Dineen now holds three National Strokeplay runners-up medals. That puts him level with TJ O’Riordan and John Ross Crangle and one behind John Walsh. Frank has now produced or tied the best score in the championship on four separate occasions. He has lost two play-offs and becomes the first player to be denied the championship on the tiebreaker (introduced for this championship due to Covid-19).

An Inter-County winner with Cork in 2015, Daniel Keohane, who shot the low single round of the championship with his second round 44, was a top ten finisher in the 2011 National Intermediate Strokeplay championship at Douglas, won by Shane Murphy.

It was a Cork 1-2-3 in the Gents Senior – the fifth time this has been achieved by Cork players since third place was officially awarded in 1987.

Munster Inter-County winner Martin Keohane built on his 2016 Top 20 placing by capturing the Best 36 Nett award.

Damien Fleming finished in the Top 6 of the National Gents’ Strokeplay championship for the seventh time in-a-row and for the ninth time in all.

Michael Conway (Tralee) is the first Kerry player to win the National Gents Intermediate Strokeplay Championship since Declan McCarron did so for Tralee as well in 2010. Michael is also the third Co. Kerry winner of the National Gents Intermediate Strokeplay Championship.

Michael Herlihy went so close to a fairytale second win in the National Gents Intermediate Strokeplay championship. He finished Runner-Up in the National Gent’s Intermediate Strokeplay championship a quarter of a century since he was crowned champion at Collins in 1995. Michael is the first player to record a win and second placing in the National Gents Intermediate Strokeplay championship.

Gerard Twohig has now been third in both the National Junior Strokeplay championship (2015) and in the National Intermediate Strokeplay Championship.

Stephen Knight is the first National Intermediate Strokeplay Best 36 Nett winner to represent a Leinster club.

Jake Shine is the first winner of a National Gent's Strokeplay championship in any grade to represent the Listowel club. (2011 Intermediate winner Declan McCarron is a Listowel native but Declan was a member of Tralee that year). Jake is the fourth player from Co. Kerry to win the National Gent’s Junior Strokeplay championship.

Every Co. Kerry winner of the National Gents’ Junior Strokeplay championship has triumphed over the 36-hole format.

It was the first time that Kerry achieved a 1-2-3 in the National Gents’ Junior Strokeplay championship and it was the first time since 2011 that the top three in that championship were all from clubs in the same county.

Junior runner-up Brian Moynihan is the father of Ella Moynihan, who was runner-up in both 2020 National Girls’ championships.

Third placed Junior finisher Paudie Looney’s son is Padraic Looney, who finished third in the 2016 National Boys’ Strokeplay Championship at Royal Meath.

Junior 36 Nett winner Douwe Van Sinderen is the first Munster winner of that award.

 

Ladies

Liz Quinn is the first winner of the National Ladies Senior Grade Strokeplay championship to represent a Co. Westmeath club. Liz becomes the second Westmeath player (after Rose McCormack’s Matchplay in 1996) to win the National Ladies Senior Grade Strokeplay or Matchplay Championship. Liz is also first Collinstown lady to win a National Ladies Strokeplay championship in any grade. She won on the final nine holes – the ninth time in history there has been a tie and the first time the tie has been decided on a countback (forced by the Covid regulations)

Martha O’Brien has now had a win, a second and a third in the National Ladies Senior Grade Strokeplay Championship. Martha is the fourth national girls’ champion to go on to be finish runner-up in the senior championship.

2019 National Matchplay champion Mary Murray finished third in the senior grade – the same position she occupied in the 2013 intermediate championship.

Helen Greagsbey ensured a Dublin player won the Senior 36 Nett award for the second championship in-a-row

Sarah O’Neill is the sixth different player in history (and the fourth from Cork) to win the National Ladies Junior Strokeplay championship and the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay championship. Sarah is the only player to have won the National Ladies Matchplay Nett Cup, the National Ladies Junior Strokeplay championship and the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay Championship. Sarah is the second player from the Collins club to win the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay championship.

Barbara Furlong is the second National Girls’ Strokeplay Champion to later achieve a second place finish in the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay Championship. Barbara is the third player in history to finish runner-up in both the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay and the National Ladies Senior Strokeplay Championships. Barbara achieved this feat in reverse order to the other two – Ger Ward and Margaret Hogan.

Kathleen Carton finished third for the second time in National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay championship – a tournament in which she also took second place in 1999.

 

Veronica Clarke adds the 36 Nett category prize in the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay championship to her Junior Grade win at the 2006 National Over 55s Junior Grade Strokeplay championships.

Dolores Mullen is the first ever member of the Glenville club (and the 15th in all from Dublin) to win the National Ladies Junior Grade Strokeplay championship. Dolores is the 2020 Dublin Ladies Junior Strokeplay champion and the National Ladies Junior Strokeplay Champion. The last player to achieve that was M. Nolan (Campions) in 1975.

Catherine Dunne adds Runners-Up spot in the National Ladies Junior Strokeplay championship to a second place with Riverdale in the 2007 National Mixed Team Event.

After no second placings in the National Ladies Junior Strokeplay championships in the first 51 years of the event, Tipperary players have now taken the silver medal in three of the most recent seven stagings.

Seapoint’s Barbara Murphy (the 2019 Leinster Matchplay champion) is the first Seapoint player to be third in a National Ladies Junior Strokeplay championship. Seapoint had previously provided a winner and a runner-up in the event.

After Gemma Coyle’s win in 2019, Nora O’Meara maintains Glenville’s grip on the Best Nett category in the National Ladies Junior Strokeplay championship.

St. Annes hosted the National Gents’ Senior and Junior Strokeplay championships for the fourth time (ties Tullamore and Ierne) as the second most often used venue.

 

General

St. Stephen’s hosted the National Gents’ Intermediate Strokeplay championships for the second time while it was a debut for Kilbeggan as the location for the National Ladies Strokeplay championship finals.

1976 Junior victor Pat Breen (Lucan) remains the only player representing a club outside Munster to win a National Gents’ Strokeplay championship in any grade at St. Anne’s (and he was a native of Millstreet, Co. Cork!)

Three of the six championships resulted in a tie at the top of the leaderboard – that’s the highest number in any year since the inception of the championships in 1961.

The countback system was used as a tiebreaker for the first time (forced by Covid stipulations).

The last time both the National Ladies Strokeplay championship (Senior grade) and the National Gents Strokeplay championship Ssenior grade) resulted in a tie in the same year was in 2003.

The last time both National Gents Strokeplay championship (Senior) and National Gents Strokeplay championship (Inter) resulted in a tie in the same year was in 1987.

93 was the highest winning aggregate in the four stagings of the National Gents Strokeplay championship (Senior) at St. Annes.

The last National Gents Strokeplay Championship (senior grade) played over 36 holes was at St. Patrick’s in 1994. The Intermediate and Junior Championships were played over 36 holes at Rocklodge in 2013 (curtailed by weather).

The National Ladies Strokeplay championships were last played over 36 holes at Collins in 2018.