Two things that strike me about the Junior grade is just how much the standard has improved and just how different the interpretation of what constitutes a Junior player across the country, from urban to rural clubs and all others in-between. More troubling is how fair this is to the genuine Junior player, but that is a discussion for another day.

I’m not advocating that weak players should have a right or a greater chance to win a National title, on the contrary, sometimes qualification itself can be the victory. However, the attitude that "let the young guys have a chance to win something” has seeped into how we deal with the progression of young players into the adult ranks, and this must not be allowed to become the norm. I think this harms the integrity of the sport, of our championships, and turns away the genuine supporter of these competitions, who essentially bankroll these events.

All I can do is analyse the players that have qualified for the National Junior Strokeplay and take them on their merits, Bill, to quote a certain John Giles. While there are two standout players, I’ll get to them later; the real battle is going to be among the 15 or so players who are battling it out for the remaining 8 places in the final round playoff. I personally think these 8 are playing for 1 medal, the bronze, and somewhat ironically this is one of the better set of qualifiers that Leinster has produced for this grade in a while.

Ciaran Claffey has the honour of being in the first pairing that will signal the start of these Championships. It is good to see young talent emerge from one of the oldest clubs in the country, and it shows that Shandon can nurture as well as harvest. A spot in the final round would be a great achievement for the boy, and he may find short delicate pitches to his liking. I’ve been advised that putting and chipping are his strong skillset, which is good, because he’ll probably have a fair share of both to contend with

Michael Norton was just pipped at the post for a medal a fortnight ago at Ryston in the Leinster Strokeplay, and he was well-tipped coming into the competition. Home pressure may have told on Norton, but there was no shame in his performance, and I think if he can be steady again, then he has a good chance of making the last round.

Gerry Breen capitalised on the opportunity, and claimed bronze in Ryston (main pic with thanks to Pat Tinsley), on countback. Clearly delighted with his efforts, Breen will be the only Leinster medallist on show in Rocklodge as neither Champion, McDonagh (MacBride) or Martin White (Rochfortbridge) were involved in qualifying. It was a composed performance from Breen, and his pairing with Patrick Robinson is going to be one of the highlights of the day.

The Bagenalstown lad won the 2012 Leinster Matchplay at an absolute canter, and I fully expect to lead the Leinster charge on Saturday. The only concern I have is whether his senses are sharp enough as he hasn’t been involved as much as he would like to have been recently, and I’d be concerned if he has enough knowledge of the course – a vital component of a title tilt in this grade. e should definitely make the playoff, and I’d have confidence in his ability to dump a good final round to muddy the waters, the question is will he have too much to do after 36 to claim a medal?

Martin Russell, Declan Murphy, Anthony Gibney and Paddy Kelly are a quartet that I would have expected to show better at the Leinster Strokeplay, not that they performed poorly, but I thought Murphy in particular would have scored better, and I’d rule them out of contention in Rocklodge. Similarly the other Midland and Meath players, the quality and scoring required is at a level above what they could produce I feel.

Eric Byrne is the other Leinster player that I would be curious about. I do not believe he will win outright, but I get the sense that this guy is a decent player, and will have the basics right, having been nurtured well in both club and county respectively by the Old County pair, Kevin Keatinge and the instantly recognisable Jim Milligan. An outside bet for the Provincial strokeplay his 2nd round took him out of contention for a medal, and I think he will score well enough to make the last 10.

Now, Junior knowledge wouldn’t be my strongpoint, but I’ve been lucky in past years that some of the Junior players have been that good that name-checking some of them took the comparable accuracy of hitting an elephant on the rumpus with a banjo. This year though, the field is overwhelmingly in favour of the Munster players so I took to courting the advice of some anonymous, well-placed Munster sources to try and save my tattered reputation. Once again, many thanks Ian.  (Pleasingly, I did know a bit about some of these players already; I along with the rest of the world heard about Conor McCarthy’s recent feats, from shooting 75 under par in his Club Strokeplay to giving everyone else a chance in Larkspur)

It might be best to start looking at the ABC’s from Munster that might contend, and where they can expect to feature. The Castleisland Looney brothers have both been given good feedback, the consensus is that Paudie might be better placed to make the final 18, and has the better experience of playing on this stage. He has put two consistent performances back to back on two very different courses, and will be very much in the hunt for not just a place in the final 18, but also for a medal.

Paddy Murray from Lakeside came 3rd in the Munster Strokeplay held in Rocklodge last year, so Murray knows what it takes to be successful here. His clubmate Mark Cahill is one of the danger-men for the title. He had a lot of self-belief going into the recent Munster Strokeplay and performed strongly before disaster struck and was disqualified. How he reacts to that disappointment will be crucial - definitely he should feature in the final round.
I myself was surprised by Che Maher’s scoring in Larkspur, I expected more from him. Perhaps it is taking longer than expected to readjust to the level of these events for the young man. If he can click in Rocklodge then he has a chance of making the final round, but perhaps that is as much to expect.

That just leaves McCarthy and the Cork crew. That sounds like a bad Irish r’n’b group, but really these are the main contenders for the National title. There are a few qualifiers with differing goals; some are those ambition might lie in making the playoff but not expected to front a charge for the title. Starting with Dan Hunt from the Majestic stable in Mallow, Dan is one of a number of the Cork Junior old guard. Consistent, Dan would be hoping to reach the final round. Nicholas Byrne from Collins is another experienced player and the knowledge of Rocklodge will surely stand to him – another with hopes of making the final round.

Two players that are compelling for different reasons next: ESB’s Darren Keane is relatively new to Pitch and Putt and caused a minor stir a while ago by qualifying well for the ESB Scr Cup. Could do well, but experience – or lack of – could be a hinderance here, while James McGrath from Kilshannig has the benefit of playing on a course regularly that has a lot of similar features to the host venue - an interesting contender definitely. Tony Driscoll has the benefit of local knowledge; this is an advantage money can’t buy at this level. With that though comes expectation and pressure. In other years Driscoll would be a hard favourite, this year though competition is extremely fierce, and he might not medal at all.

And then there was 4; Bouge, Kelly, O’Donovan & McCarthy. Denis Bouge is the outsider here. Another from the production line of juveniles from the Pfizer club, he has been in good form this year and his knowledge of Rocklodge will do him no harm. Mark Kelly, the Collins’ Juvenile, is the current Munster Strokeplay Champion. This win surely will have given Mark great confidence and perhaps an important psychological boost over McCarthy ahead of this weekend?
Chris O’Donovan, another Collins’ clubman, is one the ex-inters that found himself back in the Junior grade following the handicap restructure. Chris made the most of this by winning the Claycastle Junior scratch cup earlier this year and his form has held form as shown by his 3rd place finish at the Munster Strokeplay finals. Chris will have high expectations this weekend.

That just leaves Conor McCarthy; McCarthy from Deerpark is one of the juvenile young guns who is sure to make a big impact. He is on a hot streak and his second place finish in the Munster Junior Strokeplay with a score of -10 shows he will be a contender in Rocklodge. Reports are that he is spending a lot of time practising in Rocklodge, whether that helps now with the deluge remains to be seen.

Expectancy has reached fever pitch following performance in Larkspur Park and at 15 years old could be on the brink of a major milestone at such a tender age.  He won’t be frightened of the occasion after being a part of the Kerry U-16 winning Inter-County team of last year in St Bridget’s. Seen as the best prospect to end a 35 (club) and 28 (county) year wait for a success in this competition.

That’s good enough for me. Head on the block time:

Finalists: Paudie Looney; Denis Bouge; Tony Driscoll; Paddy Murray; Eric Byrne;

Oooh! Close! : Patrick Robinson; Mark Cahill

Medals:
Bronze: Chris O’Donovan (Collins)
Silver: Mark Kelly (Collins)
Gold: Conor McCarthy (Deerpark)

(with thanks to Ian, Trevor and the two quiet ones!)