The twin themes of youth and experience will be in play during the 2026 Leinster Intermediate Strokeplay championship at Laytown.
Jack McShane (Gowran), Jason Kelly (Bagenalstown) and Shane Murphy (Glenville) are three young players making their way in the sport.
Former All-Ireland Under-16 champions Jack McShane and Jason Kelly have also achieved royally at provincial level.
Jack was 2025 Leinster Juvenile Strokeplay champion and 2024 Leinster Juvenile Matchplay champion.
Jason was twice Leinster Juvenile Strokeplay runner-up. He helped Carlow to silver medals in the 2024 Leinster Inter-County championship and was a 2025 Leinster Schools tournament runner-up with De La Salle Bagenalstown.
Both have been in impressive early season form – their first in the adult ranks. Jason won the Kildare Scratch Cup and Michael Hogan Memorial Scratch Cup while Jack claimed the Carlow/Kilkenny/Wexford regional Matchplay title.
Shane Murphy (Glenville) won the 2025 Leinster Juvenile Matchplay championship and was last year’s Dublin Under-16 Strokeplay champion.
Noel Comiskey Senior (Kilbeggan), Anto Kavanagh (Trim), Anthony Butler (Seapoint) and Brendan Crean (Ierne) have been playing for many years and still perform to a high level.
Noel Comiskey Senior has seen much podium success with Longford in the National Inter-County championships and claimed Best Nett in last year’s National Over-55s Strokeplay championship.
Recent national Over-55s Intermediate grade Strokeplay runner-up Anto Kavanagh has been winner and runner-up with Meath in the Leinster Inter-County championship. He is the reigning European Over-55s Strokeplay champion.
A 2022 Leinster Junior Inter-County victor (and 2024 provincial Intermediate Inter-County runner- up) with Louth, Anthony Butler has been a previous Meath Masters Intermediate runner-up at Laytown and won the 2023 Laytown Scratch Cup.
A veteran of the Dublin team that took on the touring Catalans in 2000, Brendan Crean finished third in the 2026 Dublin Strokeplay championship
Vivid testimony to Pitch and Putt’s appeal as a sport for all ages is delivered by the presence in the field of octogenarian Feichin Morgan (Colinstown) who helped Westmeath to victory in the 1978 National Inter-County championship at Tullamore. Feichin was crowned 1991 Leinster Strokeplay champion at senior level.
Jude Garvey (Killineer) came second in the 2023 Laytown Intermediate Scratch Cup.
Neither current champion Ruairi Fortune or 2025 runner-up Chris Finn are in the field but reigning Junior titleholder Paul Core (Bagenalstown) makes the step up to intermediate.
Local colour is provided by Ronan Kearns, David Guildea and Stephen Behan.
Ronan Kearns helped Meath to runners-up spot in last year’s provincial Inter-County championship at Inniskeen.
David Guildea won the 2022 Liam Sherry Memorial Intermediate Scratch Cup.
Stephen Behan clinched the Leinster Junior Strokeplay championship at Seapoint three years ago, having been a Leinster Junior Inter-County gold medallist in 2022. He has also been a provincial Scotch Foursomes runner-up.
2016 Leinster Junior Matchplay runner-up Glen Martin (Killineer) was also second in the 2022 provincial Junior Strokeplay championship.
Darren McNally (Bagenalstown) was runner-up in this championship back in 2018. Paul Gorby (St. Patrick’s) won the Leinster Inter-County with Wexford in 2022.
David Kiernan (Lough Owel) featured on the 2022 Westmeath intermediate sextet that was narrowly denied in a play-off for the provincial Inter-County championship. Kiernan also played on the successful 2017 Lake County side.
Mark Comerford (Gowran) reached the 2022 Leinster Intermediate Matchplay final.
Aaron McDonagh (MacBride) first jumped into prominence with a 2011 Leinster Juvenile Inter- County success with Louth. 2013 provincial Junior Strokeplay champion, McDonagh won 2022 Ring Commons Junior Scratch Cup.
The Nett winner in the 2025 Leinster Junior Strokeplay championship David Franklin (St. Patrick’s) features as does Bagenalstown’s Micko Salter, who earned the equivalent Nett award in last year’s Leinster Intermediate Strokeplay championship.
A Leinster Junior Inter-County winner with Down last term, Chris Cunningham (Cloghogue) reached the recent Leinster Junior Matchplay semi-finals.
Bellewstown’s Mick Bowe earned a bronze medal in last year’s Leinster Scotch Foursomes, an event in which Justin Gill (Loughlinstown) won a session prize.
Owen Campbell (MacBride) was a 2018 Leinster Matchplay semi-finalist and runner-up with Louth in the 2016 provincial Inter-County.
The last threesome in the championship features 2013 Leinster Junior Matchplay semi-finalist Michael O’Connell (Tullamore), Custume’s John O’Keeffe, who was a Leinster Intermediate Matchplay finalist at Navan last year and 2025 Shandon Scratch Cup winner Kevin Walsh (Mellows).
Standout name in the junior championship is Declan Flynn after the Ashgrove player’s record- breaking tour-de-force at Rochfortortbridge in last month’s All-Ireland Over-55s junior grade Strokeplay championship.
2017 Leinster Intermediate Matchplay runner-up and 2018 provincial Intermediate Inter-County winner Jason Hughes (Navan) and 2019 Leinster Junior Strokeplay runner-up Raymond Fay (Collinstown) will be Declan’s comrades for the day. Raymond is also a former provincial Scotch Foursomes winner.
Johnny McKee (Cloghogue) won Shandon Scratch Cup recently and will now strike the opening teeshot of the 2026 Leinster Junior Strokeplay championship.
Aaron Moorhouse (St. Patrick’s) collected a bronze medal with Wexford in the 2014 Leinster Intermediate Inter-County championship.
Host club Laytown hopes rest with Gerard Walsh, Jerome Hodgins (who won the host club’s Junior Scratch Cup in 2023), Robert Byrne and 2026 Laytown Junior Scratch Cup victor Aaron Mullen.
2010 National Mixed Team Event runner-up Richard Harkin (Loughlinstown) finished third in the Over-55s behind Declan Flynn at Rochfortbridge.
Richie Walsh (Rathfeigh) reached the Leinster Junior Matchplay final in 2018.
Glenn Fortune (St. Patrick’s) was crowned Leinster Junior Matchplay champion at Bellewstown ten years ago and also holds two provincial Inter-County gold medals.
Another player just out of juvenile ranks is 2025 National Under-16 Matchplay Plate winner Bagenalstown’s Brad Meehan, who helped Carlow to underage Inter-County honours last season.
Eden’s Adrian Brereton reached the last four of the 2024 Leinster Junior Matchplay championship.
Neil Barr (Cloghogue) was a Leinster Junior Inter-County gold medallist with Down last year.
Killineer Junior Scratch Cup winner Michael Hand (Stackallen) will travel with some confidence as will Loughlinstown’s Noel Flanagan who has already been a provincial Strokeplay runner-up at intermediate (in 1978) and senior (1991) level.
2024 Offaly Matchplay runner-up Kieran Claffey (Erry) will be joined by 2022 Leinster Inter-County runner-up Glen Buckley (St. Patrick’s) and John Boyle (Loughlinstown), a regular podium visitor on the Scratch Cup circuit. Boyle finished third in the 2026 Meath Masters at Laytown.
Leading Dublin qualifier Ken Butler (Loughlinstown) won the Dublin John Smith Junior Scratch Cup and reached the capital’s Junior Matchplay final.
2023 provincial Matchplay semi-finalist Robert Middleton (Gowran) is a two-time Leinster Junior Inter-County winner in the black and amber.
Ciaran McCormack (Loughlinstown) was a bronze medallist in the 2023 Leinster Junior B Strokeplay championship, while team event specialist Matthew Holland (Gowran) reached the 2025 Leinster Junior Matchplay final.
John Gilsenan (Trim) was a Leinster Mixed Foursomes winner in 2019 while Ken Hickey (Bagenalstown) has been a provincial Junior Inter-County bronze medallist with Carlow.
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