Pitch & Putt IrelandPreview - National Ladies Strokeplay - Senior
2025 Ladies National Strokeplay – Senior Preview by John manning
Chrissie Sheedy’s defence of the National Ladies Strokeplay championship will be conducted in the company of Tullamore’s Margaret Hogan.
Victory at McDonagh would give Margaret Hogan a Matchplay (1997) and a Strokeplay win at the hallowed Curragh venue.
Success for either Chrissie or Margaret would see them ascend to joint second place on the all-time Roll of Honour, level with Clare Keating and behind only Geraldine Ward. The Kildare and Offaly stars currently hold five wins apiece.
The all-star field of 26 contains a further six former champions.
1997 and 2000 champ Marina O’Rourke (Cloghogue) is the first of these into action followed by 1987 and 2016 winner, Breda White (Tipperary Hills), Liz Quinn (Collinstown) who won in 2020, twelve-time winner Geraldine Ward (Portmarnock), 2009 victor Tracey Redmond (Lucan) and Marian Courtney (Ryston), who won at Tullamore in 1999.
Matchplay champions abound also. In addition to dual champions Breda White, Liz Quinn, Geraldine Ward, Tracey Redmond, Marian Courtney, Chrissie Sheedy and Margaret Hogan, 2023 Matchplay victor Paula Lynch (Oldcastle) is joined by Mary Murray (Rocklodge) who triumphed in 2019, 2008 winner Tara Dillon (Ryston) and Eleanor Walsh (Fermoy) who won the 1988 Matchplay at the sadly-missed Dunlops course.
Mary Murray has been runner-up in each of the last two years and will bid to go one better at McDonagh in 2025. Marian Courtney will seek to build on her bronze medal performance at Stackallen, the Ryston lady’s best showing in the championship since her third place at Cement (now Killineer) eight years ago.
Just like Margaret Hogan (who also finished third in the 2017 National Over-55 Senior grade Strokeplay championship at this weekend’s host course), many other contestants can point to previous wins at McDonagh.
Mary Murray was crowned All-Ireland Over-55 Senior grade Strokeplay champion at McDonagh in 2018; Chrissie Sheedy won last year’s WPPT Master event over the course (where she won her first Inter-County in millennium year) while Breda White helped Tipperary to the 2019 Inter-County title at McDonagh.
Tracey Redmond was Leinster Strokeplay champion at McDonagh in 2008 (when Marian Courtney was second). Marian had won the Leinster Matchplay at McDonagh six years earlier when Tara Dillon was the defeated finalist. Chrissie Sheedy won the 2017 Leinster Strokeplay at McDonagh with Tara Dillon in second place.
To former Irish Girls champion, Margaret Keogh (Ryston) will go the honour of striking the first teeshot of the championship on Sunday morning. That will be alongside three-time All-Ireland graded Strokeplay champion Sarah O’Neill (Collins).
Reigning Intermediate champion Valerie Rogers (Cloghogue) has moved up into the senior ranks, as has the lady Valerie beat in the play-off at Stackallen twelve months ago, Ailish Sexton (Fermoy), herself a former National Junior Strokeplay champion.
The field is completed by 2019 Leinster Strokeplay champion Glenda Hoey (Lucan), Dublin Inter-County players Tracey Smith (Lucan) and Louise Grace (R.G.S.C.), 2019 Leinster Strokeplay silver medallist Margaret Reilly (Oldcastle), 2015 National Over-55s senior grade Strokeplay champion Ger Holland (R.G.S.C.), a two-time runner-up in that championship Kathleen Geraghty (Skryne), twice National Strokeplay runner-up (and 2019 Nett winner) Maree O’Toole (Shandon), 2020 Nett winner Helen Greagsbey (Ierne), 2011 National Intermediate Strokeplay champion Pauline Balfe (Old County) and 2012 Leinster Strokeplay silver medallist Siobhan Keely (R.G.S.C.).
The championship was last played at McDonagh in 1970. The great Limerick lefthander Nancy Tuohy (Catholic Institute) triumphed with eight under par 154, five strokes clear of the legendary Clare Keating (Woodvale). One suspects the winning aggregate may be slightly lower on this occasion.
The seniors will play 36 holes on Sunday morning with the top eight players qualifying for the final round on Sunday afternoon.