Over the June Bank Holiday weekend we witnessed some of the best Pitch & Putt ever played over the beautiful Lucan course from 96 of the best players the country had to offer.
The action started on Saturday morning at 10am to see, come Monday would the holders still be in the picture or would we have two new winners‘names on the cups. After Saturday’s one round of play, many familiar faces were still in the running but the action was not without the odd surprise. A busy Sunday, with three rounds for the gents and two for the ladies started at 9.30am and finished the far side of 7.00pm, by which time the semi finalists were known.
The ladies section threw up two very similar seim finals, both Portmarnock vs St. Bridget’s affairs; Ger Ward vs Chrissie Byrne and Sheelagh Elmes vs Marian Byrne; four previous winners of the Championship. In the first match out on Monday morning, Ger Ward took out the current holder Chrissie Byrne on the 35th hole after a very close game. On the way to the final, the Portmarnock legend had also defeated Miriam Salmon (Glenville), Maree O’Toole (Shandon) and Carol O Brien (Gaeil Colmcille).There was better luck for the Byrne’s and St. Bridget’s in the next match as Marian took the remaining final spot, fighting back from four down at the turn to take it at the last hole from Sheelagh Elmes. Marian had shown similar determination on a difficult path to the semi final stage that included victories over Phil Condron (Lucan), Tracey McGrath (Erry) and Margaret Hogan (Tullamore).
A great final commenced with Ger in fantastic form, establishing an early lead and then a four advantage after the first 18. As in the semi, Marian showed great determination, staging a comeback once again but Ger got a hold of things and Marian ran out of holes, falling to a 2&1 defeat against the now 15 time National Champion! Ger had created yet another record in winning her 9th National Matchplay title, her 15th National title in all, proving that there is plenty left in the tank of the stalwart yet.
Two days of cracking play had whittled the Gents field down to the final four. St. Bridget’s, Derek Courtney faced Ray Murphy, now representing St. Anne’s in the first semi while McDonagh’s Joe Ronan was up against Sean Goggin (Cement) in an all Leinster affair. Courtney and Murphy had really gone at it in a high quality game to the point where Derek lead by four holes in the early stages of the second round. Ray’s putter caught fire all of a sudden, rattling off nine birdies in a row from the 23rd hole onward, seizing control of the tussle and eventually securing a 3&2 victory. Murphy had some tough challenges on his way to the final, also defeating Darren O’Connell (Tullamore), James McLoughlin (Erin’s Isle), Keith Redmond (Shandon) and Chris Gallagher (Lucan). In the other semi final, a close first 18 opened up on the second circuit with Goggin coming out on top in a 4&3 victory. Sean had accounted for Fintan Wogan (Castletown), Liam O Donavan (Bruff), Derek Ryan (St. Patrick’s), & Mark Millar (Shandon) on his way to the final.
It was Cork v Drogheda in the final for the 2013 title and what a cracker of a game it turned out to be and well worth waiting for. Murphy going for his sixth title was not going to get it easy and this was clear from the first hole. Murphy teed off, glued to the pin and Goggin stepped up for a hole in one - what a start!! Ray came back to establish a lead which he maintained narrowly for much of the contest. There was two between them entering the closing stretch and a slip by Murphy at the 33rd allowed Goggin to close the gap to one. Tension was high as they played the 35th in what must have been the hole of the day. Murphy was twenty feet from the hole, Goggin was nineteen. Ray smacked it into the hole, grasping the air with a delighted punch only for Sean to bang in his putt as well, taking the match to the final hole. As much as Sean tried at the 18th, it did not happen and Ray Murphy was crowned champion yet again, his sixth Matchplay and 9th National title overall.
What a weekend it was, quite unforgettable, especially with such
familiar names back on both cups!
Click on the link below for the scoresheets and round by round scoreboards to catch up on the weekend action. Use the tabs at the top to cycle through the various pages.
FULL SCOREBOARD – NATIONAL MATCHPLAY CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Flickr page has been updated with photos of all the competitors from the weekend as well as several action shots. This will be updated in the coming days and weeks. Please find the link to the set below.
FLICKR - NATIONAL MATCHPLAY CHAMPIONSHIPS