Mixed bag today (Sunday 18th June) for our teams

First out today was our Senior Cup team, managed today by Alan Keane at home with Dermot Whiston and David Kirby looking after the away team in Elm Park.

On a positive note we had three home matches today but on the downside were missing two players, David Byrne and Dylan Holmes, who were both abroad on holidays and might normally have played.  This is what having a squad is all about, and the team management were still able to select a very strong team for todays match.

Our first at home was Adam Packman who played well today. Adam was three up after seven, lost eight but birdied nine to head for the tenth tee, three up. He extended his lead with a win on the tenth and despite a fight back from his opponent with wins on thirteen, and on fourteen with a birdie, Adam played some stunning shots to half fifteen and sixteen to go dormie two up.

Behind Adam, Shane O’Connor was up against a +2.8 handicapper and was far from having it his own way. Wins for Shane on three and seven were undone by losses on four and six.  On nine Shane was just off the front of the green in two with his opponent in some bother, but a poor chip by Shane’s standards allowed his opposite number back in the hole, which was halved. Ten went to Elm Park but Shane made a good birdie on twelve to square the match once again. It was tight as tight can be from there with pars and birdies being matched from twelve through sixteen.

Our third man out at home was Daniel O’Byrne who was up against the Elm Park low man, playing off +3.8.  Daniel relished this challenge and go off to a great start with an excellent par saving twelve footer on the first, followed by a great win on the second.  His lead went to two after his opponent hit a really poor tee shot of the fourth which was, in fact lucky not to find the gorse on the right of the hole. Daniel lost the fifth to birdie but won six and seven to go three up. On nine, Daniel hit the trees short left of the green with his second shot but the ball fell kindly for him, leaving him a nice pitch to the hole.  His opponent had hit his drive up the eight fairway and had to play a blind second shot which flew the green and found the gorse behind it.  He took a drop onto the fourth fairway but hit a great shot to eight feet, leaving himself a putt for par. Daniel hit a nice chip to twelve feet and narrowly missed his birdie putt, however this was still good enough for the win when the Elm Park man missed his par putt.

So it looked like Daniel was in full control at four up going down the lane. At this level of course each player is capable of birdieing any hole so any lead can evaporate quickly if concentration is lost.  Daniel three putted on ten to lose the hole but looked in pole position to perhaps win eleven but for a great putt from the Elm Park player to save his par, halving the hole. Daniel was behind a tree on the left of the twelfth and hit a stunning punch shot to find the green and set up a par but this wasn’t enough as his opponent held another excellent putt for a birdie and a win. Slightly out of position again on thirteen, Daniel held a clutch putt for par to halve the hole and made an excellent up and down from over the back of fourteen to earn a half with his opponent who was in tight after his tee shot, missed his birdie putt. On fifteen Daniel found the left rough off his tee shot but his opponent was buried in the rough on the right of the fairway and was looking like he had no shot.  Daniel hit a great iron to just short of the fairway bunkers, leaving himself a hundred yards to the pin. The Elm Park man had spotted a gap and hit an unbelievable escape shot up the thirteenth fairway to ninety yards. With Daniel playing first he hit a wonderful shot to fifteen feet while the Elm Park shot cleared the green, with the ball dissappearing into the base of the big Leylandii tree back left of the green. Daniel made his par to win the hole and was now dormie three up.

Meanwhile in Elm Park,  Darren McCormack and Junior captain Jamie Anderson were flying the Greystones flag. Darren was playing great and was one up through six. From this point however, the home man found his rhythm and levelled the match with a win on the seventh before moving into a two hole lead with wins on the eleventh and twelfth holes. Darren got it back to just one with a win on fourteen but was back to two down standing on the sixteenth tee. Darren retained his focus and was not going down without a fight winning both sixteen and the tricky par three seventeenth to level his match.

Jamie was second out and playing really well today. He turned one up (wins on three and six with a loss on the fourth) and with both payers playing quality golf the match remained like this with holes seven through thirteen being halved. Jamie lost the fourteenth but won sixteen to go back to one up.

So at this stage it was still all very much in the balance. At home, Adam was dormie two up, Shane was all square after sixteen and Daniel was dormie three up, while in Elm Park, Darren was all square playing eighteen and Jamie was one up on seventeen.

Phone calls and messages were flying around the ether as the matches came to a conclusion.

First, Adam chipped in for birdie on seventeen after his second shot hit the bank and looked for a brief moment might roll back into the water. A well deserved 3&1 for Adam.

1-0 to Greystones

Daniel’s tee shot on sixteen rolled over the back of the green while his opponent hit a great shot over the pin to twelve feet.  Daniel’s chip was sublime and was unlucky not to find the bottom of the cup with his par being enough to halve the hole and win his match 3&2.

2-0 to Greystones.

In Elm Park, Darren halved eighteen and moved on to the nineteenth which was also halved, while Jamie lost eighteen to go all square and also moved to the first to decide his match.

In Greystones, Shane and his opposition were both on the edge of the green in two on seventeen. The Elm Park player chipped to four feet and as Shane was lining up his chip word came through from Elm Park that Darren had chipped in for birdie on the twentieth hole to win his match and the tie.

Jamie (at one under for his round according to caddy David Kirby) and Shane were both all square when called in.

A tremendous performance all round and a semi-final V Castle awaits in Blainroe on July 8th.