Pitch & Putt Ireland2022 National Ladies Strokeplay Report
Report, Scores and Facts & Figures from Fermoy
The Winners of the 2022 National Ladies Strokeplay played at Fermoy pictured with Pitch and Putt Ireland President Mark Keohane, Junior Maryann Byrne, Intermediate Sarah O'Neill, Senior Christine Sheedy and the Lady Captain Michelle Flynn and Chairman Ned Rice of Fermoy receiving the Host Club Plaque.
2022 National Ladies Strokeplay Photos All Winners click HERE
An interesting day at the National Ladies Strokeplay in Fermoy ended with former winners of the Senior and Intermediate titles getting their hands on those titles again while there was an emotional victory in the Junior at the end of a poignant and sombre week for the host club. Communications & Press Officer Jason O’Connor reports.
Junior
Only a day after her partner John and his family had buried their father Mick, Mary Anne Byrne triumphed in the first Championship of the day by a single stroke. Mary Anne had trailed 18 hole leader Corinne McGee of Cunnigar by one at halfway stage as Corinne started with a 61. Mary Anne put herself in strong contention in the next nine holes however by going through one over par as she closed with a further 32 strokes in her last nine holes to post the clubhouse lead at 123.
Grainne Shelley of Larkspur Park finished on 128 to eventually finish third as McGee matched Mary Anne over the first nine of the second round but crucially added further 34 strokes in the remainder of her round to finish on 124 and had to make do with second. The Top Three were the only three players in the field to break 130 as Catherine Dillon of St Bridgets would post that exact total.
Dillon would claim the Nett prize off a Handicap of 18 though as her score was 94 in winning that prize.
Intermediate
Eight years after she won the Junior grade in Fermoy as well and only 53 weeks after she won the 2020 Intermediate event in Kilbeggan, Collins’ Sarah O’Neill won a third National Singles title today, her second at Intermediate level. She would set the pace for the other 25 competitors to following in shooting one under par (the only Intermediate score of the day that was under par) as Lakeside’s Mary Quinn came the closest to her, four shots behind.
Sarah started solidly with a level par opening round before moving to two under with nine to play. Despite dropping one shot on the way in no one could better her score again. Margaret Conneely of Trim had also shot level par in the first round but her challenge faltered in the second round as Mary Quinn fired in a very good second 18 of three under par to claim second outright on three over par. The other two prizes on the day were settled by countback as third place provided the host club with their second prize of the day.
Lucan’s Tracey Smith had fired two solid rounds of two over par in posting four over but Ailish Sexton had a strong level par second round to pip her for the prize in the finish after the Fermoy player also posted 112. Last year’s National Junior Strokeplay winner Margaret Hennessy of Riverdale won the Nett her with 92 defeating Seapoint’s Barbara Murphy on countback with a second 18 of 46 as opposed to 49 for Barbara.
Senior
A nine year wait for the Elvery Cup is over for Ryston’s Chrissie Sheedy as she won her first National Singles title as a married woman today by five strokes in the finish. It look finely poised between herself and defending champion Ger Ward with nine holes to play as Chrissie was in the clubhouse on nine under par and Ger was seven under out on the course with nine to play.
However Ger dropped back to four under for a finish and eventually had to settle for third as RGSC’s Glenda Hoey produced another medal winning performance around the Fermoy track. Chrissie along with National Matchplay winner Liz Quinn and Shandon’s Maree O’Toole had all shot four under for their first 18’s but when Chrissie picked up four shots in her last nine holes to finish on nine under it looked a formidable score to beat.
Ger Ward seemed up for the challenge until the final quarter as she fell back to four under for a finish. After claiming third in the 2014 Intermediate Strokeplay at the same venue thanks to a strong final round, Glenda repeated the trick here as well with a four under par conclusion (her tournament score) seeing her claim the silver medal on countback. Liz Quinn also posted four under but a one under par second round for Ger as opposed to level for Liz saw the Portmarnock player win the bronze as Maree O’Toole finished the tournament on three under par.
The Nett prize was won by Cunnigar’s Lorraine Troy with a total of 95 from a one over score of seven for two rounds.
2022 National Ladies Strokeplay Championships (sponsored by Ballymore Group)
Fermoy, Co Cork
Senior
1st: C Sheedy (Ryston) 99
2nd: G Hoey (RGSC) 104 (B18)
3rd: G Ward (Portmarnock) 104 (B18)
Nett: L Troy (Cunnigar) 95
Intermediate
1st: S O’Neill (Collins) 107
2nd: M Quinn (Lakeside) 111
3rd: A Sexton (Fermoy) 112 (B18)
Nett: M Hennessy (Riverdale) 92 (B18)
Junior
1st: MA Byrne (Fermoy) 123
2nd: C McGee (Cunnigar) 124
3rd: G Shelley (Larkspur Park) 128
Nett: C Dillon (St Bridgets) 94
For Full Scoreboard Click HERE
Facts and Figures
John Manning takes through the meaning of yesterday’s results in Fermoy.
Senior
Chrissie Sheedy (nee Byrne) won the National Ladies Strokeplay championship for the fourth time in all.
Chrissie moves on to 10 National Individual Championships, advancing her to sole third place on the all-time list behind only Geraldine Ward and Clare Keating.
Chrissie’s score of 99 meant she won the Championship for the first time over 36 holes. Her previous three National Strokeplay victories have come under the three-round format.
Chrissie’s fourth victory arrived at Fermoy – a course where she previously won the Matchplay. Chrissie becomes the fifth player in history (after Clare Keating, Ger Ward, Teresa McGuigan and Bernadette Coffey) to win both the National Ladies Matchplay and National Ladies Strokeplay Championships on the same course.
Glenda Hoey has now recorded a trio of top three finishes at the National Ladies Strokeplay championships – Junior third in 2013, Intermediate third in 2014 and Senior runner-up in 2022. Two of those top three finishes have been at Fermoy.
Eleven-time champion Geraldine Ward picked-up a bronze medal in the senior grade – her second such ranking since third place was officially awarded in 1987. Ger was previously third at Portmarnock in 1995.
Second place was decided by the tiebreaker route for the eighth time since third place was officially awarded in 1987.
Lorraine Troy is the first player from a Co. Waterford club to achieve a podium finish in the National Ladies Senior Grade Strokeplay Championship.
Intermediate
Sarah O’Neill becomes the third two-time winner in the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay championship, following Linda O’Donovan and Bridget Shelley.
Already one of only six players to win both the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay and National Ladies Junior Strokeplay championships, Sarah becomes the first player to win both Intermediate and Junior on the same course.
Sarah is the second player in history (after Bridget Shelley) to win the National Ladies Junior Strokeplay Championship and two National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay championships.
As well as her wins in the National Ladies Junior and Intermediate Strokeplay Championship Mary Quinn has now achieved two runners-up placings in the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay Championship – the Lakeside lady is the first player in history to accomplish being winner and runner-up in the grade.
Mary is the fifth player in history (as well as Donna Cockwell, Úna Brosnan, Ann-Marie McCabe and Marie McCabe) to be runner-up twice in the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay championship.
2012 National Ladies Junior Strokeplay Champion Ailish Sexton finished third for the third time in the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay championship – a tournament in which she has also previously been fourth, fifth and sixth.
Ailish finished third in the National Ladies Strokeplay Championship for the second successive year, matching the feat of Riverdale’s Margaret Forde (2018/2019).
2021 National Ladies Junior Strokeplay champion Margaret Hennessy (Riverdale) scooped the 2022 National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay Best Nett award. Margaret is the first Munster player to claim the latter prize.
Junior
Mary Anne Byrne is the ninth player in history and the fourth in the last eight stagings to win the National Ladies Junior Strokeplay championship over her home course. Mary Anne finished on the podium in the National Ladies Junior Strokeplay Championship for the third time in four years.
Corinne McGee finished second in the National Ladies Junior Strokeplay championship for the second time – the fourth player (and the first from Co. Waterford) in history to achieve this feat.
Grainne Shelley is the first member in history of the Larkspur Park club to take third place at the National Ladies Junior Strokeplay championship.
Catherine Dillon (St. Bridgets) prevented a Munster podium clean sweep in the Intermediate and Junior championships and restored Leinster’s grip on the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay Best Nett category.
General
Cork players won the National Ladies Intermediate and National Ladies Junior Strokeplay Championships in the same year for the ninth time.
Fermoy hosted the National Ladies Strokeplay championships for the fourth time which ties Tullamore and Douglas as the venue most often used.
Cork players won the National Ladies Intermediate and National Ladies Junior Strokeplay championships in the same year at Fermoy for the second time in history – 1981 was the other occasion.
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