From: Our Lady's Hospital, Shanakiel Road, Cork City

History:
Please click below for a run-through of St. Anne's history.
http://www.stannespitchandputt.com/club-history

Another club that has served at the highest level of admin in the PPUI, they lost ex-President Liam Houlihan earlier this year.

Team Details:
Squad:
Probably the best collection of P&P players under the one roof. Even their weaker players are very good by other club standards. Have ruled the roost in Cork for a few years. Adding Murphy was a coup.
Despite the pretence portrayed by their captain, this is a very humble team, all good guys. Huge collection of silverware, both individual and team, from lowest to highest levels.

Captain:
Frank Dineen (74):
Who else for Captain only Frank!  – arguably the biggest self-promoter of Pitch and Putt in the country, and has the game to back it up. Dineen is a former Irish Strokeplay Champion, Inter-County Champion, Irish Open Winner, Munster Champion and finally Cork Matchplay Champion for 2013. Excellent putter, fastidious student of Pitch & Putt, but over-indulges in the mental games sometimes.
Darren Collins (22):
Twice Irish Champion, perennial challenger, Irish International, Inter-county winner, excellent club man. Bad-weather specialist (let’s hope there’s no cause to test that out). Will be expected to form the fulcrum of a winning side.
Donal Duggan (14):
Having a stormer of a season, runner-up in Douglas was a fitting reward for one of the best supporters of Pitch & Putt in Cork, and backs up the belief his buddies have had in him for years. Will be a huge player for St. Anne’s this weekend.
John O’Sullivan (104): Excellent player – his partnership with Dunscombe is near-unbeatable: they’ve lost 1 match together in 5 years in Cork. Will be targeted in the singles.
Kieran Dunscombe (23): Nothing more needs to be said about Kieran that hasn’t been said already. The best pitcher in the country at present. Quite possibly will not have to putt in his singles match, if the weather holds out.
Liam Myers (80):
Former Cork champion, and comes in under the radar due to the high calibre team mates he has. Will be very tough in the singles.
Tadgh Murphy (N/A):
Very committed player. Not the easy ride some will expect. A former Cork Matchplay champion, can hold his head high amongst exhaulted company.
Ray Murphy (1): Best player on the planet. Also missing for Saturday. Huge blow for him personally, and moreso for the team.

Path to the Semi-finals:
Runners-up Group A
Results:
Vs Ballinlough 8-1 (W) @ ESB
Vs Bruff 3-6 (L) @ Parteen
Vs Collins 2-7 (L) @ ESB
Vs Deerpark 7-2 (W) @ Rocklodge
Vs Tralee 9-0 (W) @ Ballinlough
Vs ESB/Rocklodge 8-1 (W) @ Claycastle

Quarter-Final:
Vs Claycastle 6-3 (W) @ Ballinlough

Prospects:

Their captain believes they are the team to beat, and while confidence is a trait you expect in your captain, Dineen takes it to new heights, something his opponents haven’t quite taken to. They are very hard to rattle and I think if they’re to be caught off-guard it might be the semi-finals.
This team are current Cork League Champions (Champions for the 4th year in a row), and worryingly for everyone else, they have 7 Cork League titles together. Overwhelming favourites for the title, but they’ve actually suffered two defeats in this competition, one of which was a hiding against Bruff and even worse against neighbours Collins, so they’re far from infallible.
The win against Claycastle to book a semi-final place was impressive. They need to be tested in the doubles – if they’re ahead going into the singles, their firepower is too much.

Murphy’s absence will give their opponents a huge boost, it could be a key factor....