NATIONAL STROKEPLAY STATS 2023

John Manning takes us through the meaning of last weekend’s results in Riverdale and Lakeside.

Ladies Senior

Ger Ward wins the National Ladies Strokeplay championship for an incredible 12th time. With her 12 National Matchplay victories, her total of main national individual successes stands at 24, to say nothing of her recent O55 victory at Glenville. Tipperary is the eighth different county in which Ger Ward has won a National Ladies Strokeplay title.

Mary Murray now has a second and a third in the National Strokeplay championship in addition to her National Matchplay win four years ago. Mary is the fifth National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay champion to go on to finish second at senior level.

Margaret Hogan took third spot in the National Ladies Strokeplay Championship for the fourth time since third place was officially awarded in 1987. Her latest National Strokeplay achievement arrived 46 years since she won the championship for the first time - in 1977!

Ladies Intermediate

Margaret Hennessy is the eighth player in history to win the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay championship over her home course. Margaret becomes the second winner (after Sarah O’Neill) of the All-Ireland Ladies Matchplay Nett Cup to also claim the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay championship. She is also the seventh player in history to win the National Ladies Junior and the Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay championships.

Margaret Forde is the first player ever to finish runner-up to a club-mate in the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay championship. She adds 2023 second place in the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay championship to two bronze medals in the event (2018 and 2019). The last player to achieve this was Kathleen Carton.

Margaret Hennessy’s winning score of 107 matched last year’s successful aggregate (Sarah O’Neill, 107), the first time for that since Ros O’Rourke (111 in 1990) and Bridget Guilfoyle (111 in 1991).

Frances Ryan is the fourth player (and third different, Bridget Shelly achieved it twice) from Lakeside to finish third in the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay Championship.

The top three in the National Ladies Intermediate Strokeplay championship all hailed from the same county – the first time that’s happened since 2003.

Ladies Junior

Marion Gannon Kelly is the second player from McDonagh (and the first since Claire Winder in Millennium year) to lift the National Ladies Junior Strokeplay championship. 118 was the winning 36-hole aggregate in the National Ladies Junior Strokeplay Championship for the eighth time.

Ann O’Herlihy finished second in the National Ladies Junior Strokeplay championship for the second time in three years. Ann is the first All-Ireland Ladies Matchplay Nett Cup runner-up to clinch a silver medal in the National Ladies Junior Strokeplay championship (Elaine Quinn has an All-Ireland Ladies Matchplay Nett Cup win and a second place in National Ladies Junior Strokeplay championship). She is also the third player in history to record two second place finishes in the championship.

Catherine Dillon is the first player from St. Bridget’s to finish third in the National Ladies Junior Strokeplay Championship. Catherine progresses from fourth overall and Best Nett winner in 2022 to third this year.

Gents Senior

Stephen Shoer is the first member of Riverdale and the first player from Tipperary to win the National Gents Strokeplay championship. His winning return of 134 is exactly the same score as he shot six years ago at Hillview when finishing second to Mark Millar.

Stephen becomes the sixth National Intermediate Strokeplay champion to go on to be senior champion. The 15 year gap between Stephen’s inter win (2008) and first senior success is a new record, trumping Donal Long (1972/1982), Chris Scannell (1984/1995) and Darren Collins (1993/2004).

Stephen Shoer is the first player to win the National Gents Strokeplay (senior grade) Strokeplay Championship over his home course since Chris Scannell in 1995 (although Eddie Carey did know Ryston pretty well in 2010).

Damien Fleming finished second for the third time in the National Strokeplay championship, moving him up alongside TJ O’Riordan, John Ross Crangle and Frank Dineen in joint second place on that particular list, just behind John Walsh’s four runners-up performances.

Munster Strokeplay champion Dave Sexton’s wonderful year continued as he added third place in the senior championship 24 years after he claimed second in intermediate. David is the second Intermediate runner-up to go on to take third in senior (since third place was officially awarded in 1987). James Carroll (Intermediate runner-up 2003; Senior third in 2007) is the other.

2019 National Junior Strokeplay runner-up Sean Crowe joins Jonathan Goodall (2009) and Joe Joyce (2018) as players to clinch fourth place on their own course (looking at fourth place only since the automatic qualifying slot was introduced in 1995).

Gents Intermediate

2019 Leinster Strokeplay champion Sean Clerkin is the second player (following Daniel Clinton in 2010) from Killineer/Cement to win the National Intermediate Strokeplay Championship.

Sean Clerkin now holds a national gold medal in addition to his two bronze medals – 2017 Juvenile Inter-County and 2019 U20 Strokeplay.

Patrick Robinson has now been runner-up in the National Junior Strokeplay championship (2013) and National Intermediate Strokeplay championship (2023) – the second player in history (after Jimmy Quinn) to achieve this.

2022 Munster Intermediate Matchplay champion Darren O’Leary progresses from sixth at St. Annes in the 2020 Junior event to third in the National Intermediate Strokeplay Championship.

 

Gents Junior A

Kyle Thornton is the fifth member of the Killineer/Cement club to win the National Junior Strokeplay championship. He is also the seventh player from Co Louth to win the National Junior Strokeplay championship.

Martin O’Sullivan is the first player in history to win the Munster Junior Strokeplay Championship and be runner-up in the National Junior Strokeplay championship in the same year. Jimmy Quinn was a Munster Junior Strokeplay Champion and a National Junior Strokeplay runner-up but not in the same year.

Jason Moore adds a third place at national level to his Kildare Strokeplay title. Jason is the first Ryston player and the first from Co. Kildare to clinch third in the championship (since third place was officially awarded).

Ballykilty Manor (1995 and 1996) was the last club before Killineer to produce consecutive National Junior Strokeplay champions. For the first time in 40 years, the Intermediate and Junior winners in a single season represented the same club (Killineer). It was Pfizer back in 1983.

Gents Junior B

Colin English will forever be known as the historic first winner of the National Junior B Strokeplay championship.

Patrick Walsh is obviously the first National Junior B Strokeplay runner-up. He is the second Waterford (and Cunnigar) Gent to finish second in any National Junior Strokeplay Championship. Jimmy Quinn is the other.

As well as being the first player to be third in the National Junior B Strokeplay Championship, Cian McGovern recalls the third place finish at junior level by Lucan club-mate David Dooley in 2006.

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