I’m not in the habit of offering false praise. So when I say that I’m more excited by this year’s Ladies Matchplay, than its male equivalent, I mean what I say. I believe the draw and its possible permutations back up my assessment. Look at the finalists*: Both national champs; both provincial champs; all the mainstays of the inter-county teams. Now analyse the first round ties – it is teeming with excellent and tightly poised games. There are many adjectives that could be used to describe the bottom section; ‘nasty’ seems justified!
*obviously the rather obvious caveat is that the Ladies in the main qualified with little or no bloodshed, and with the exception of Martha O’Brien (Yankee) and Liz Bloem (unluck of the draw), everyone who you’d want to be there is there! The gents? Not so much!
The first match of the 2013 finals is a doozy! Chrissie Byrne, aiming for her god-knows-how-many-title, faces the first home player in Barbara Furlong; not the easiest start for someone considered by many to be the favourite for the weekend. Chrissie will need to perform to her best to curb the threat posed by Barbara, a lady well-equipped to upset the schism that exists at the top of the ladies game.
Breda Lonergan has reacquainted herself with Lucan these past few days, and ever the competitor and fresh from Munster Matchplay victory will be expected to deal with the challenge posed by the next local, Kathleen Croke.
Noreen Myles has it all to do against Ger Holland from RGSC, and the Meath secretary could struggle to meet the challenge.
Brenda Purcell playing Linda Thomson is the kind of nip-and-tuck match that this competition thrives on. Purcell has an obvious advantage being a Lucan player, but Thomson has developed into a good player, and with a bit more self-belief, and more importantly – focus – could break that glass ceiling that she is struggling with at present.
Carol O’Brien could struggle to live with Mairead O’Toole, although she does have the experience of playing in big competitions now that you wouldn’t be too sure. There is bound to be a good Meath presence supporting also which makes a difference too.
Maria Kerr makes the long trip from Rosscarbery, and it would be nice to see this lovely pitcher of a ball rewarded with a win, but Mary Donnelly knows the ins and outs of a pitch and putt course as well as anyone, and this game could lie in the balance. The romantic in me plumps for Kerr.
Another fine tie approaches in the form of Claire O’Flynn and Maree O’Toole. In some ways these ladies are replicas of each other. Both are fine players, and in another era, probably would have more, bigger titles to their names, but as it stands are just in the rung below the current phenom’s. It will be tight, but O’Toole should shade it.
The final game of the top half should see the pre-eminent player of this, and any other generation, Portmarnock’s Geraldine Ward face cross-city rival Miriam Salmon of Glenville; Ward to advance.
An all-Cork tie greets the bottom half of the draw, with Eleanor Walsh having to deal with The Ranges Pat Murphy. Walsh will be confident of advancing, and rightly so. The other Porto lady, Sheelagh Elmes will expect to defeat Patsy O’Donovan, ahead of the all-Glenville tie of Stella Sheridan and Anne Fagan. Fagan will need everything to go right to progress, I’m not counting my chickens.
So to the battle of the young wan’s, Claire Keatinge of Old County, and Yvonne Carney of Newtown in Meath. A nice start for the young Tallaght girl – a winnable tie, but she’ll need to start well; in other words, far from a walk in the park for Keatinge.
Lastly to the bottom section of the draw, the proverbial group of death. It’s horrid and mirrors the same section of the gents draw.
Tracey McGrath is first up against Theresa King in probably the most predictable tie of the section. McGrath’s temporary residency in West Dublin offers her a distinct advantage, and I’d be surprised if she hadn’t utilised her membership to the max.
Marian Byrne faces Philo Condron of Lucan in an enthralling tie. It says a lot about Marian’s mental toughness that she came back to pitch and putt as competitive as she was previously. Her fall to Thomson in Leinster was offset by her crushing performance in the Kildare Strokeplay. But this is a tough tie, and she could well fall at this first hurdle. Philo is very good, and tough in and around Dublin.
Tara Dillon and Siobhan Scannell will provide some exquisite fayre in their game, and it will be tough to predict a winner here. I might just give the nod to Tara, the recent Leinster runner-up.
Finally Margaret Hogan should account for Siobhan Keely of RGSC, but if she has regained her confidence and composure, an upset wouldn’t be beyond the realms of a possibility, but Margaret starts as overwhelming favourite.
Round 2 could throw up more incredible ties. It would look like Chrissie facing Lonergan, and this is a clash all Pitch and Putt aficionado’s will look forward to watching. Byrne has the upper-hand I’d contend, but Lonergan is a fierce competitor and will surely go close to winning this Championship at some stage? That doesn’t stop me from backing Chrissie, although it could go as far as tie holes.
Ger Holland’s reward is a very winnable game with Linda Thomson, although the Drimnagh native will surely think the same. Composure will win this tie....Thomson? Mairead O’Toole could face Maria Kerr, and while the romantic in me would love to think the Cork player could progress, the pragmatist says O’Toole will have too much. The other O’Toole has the biggest challenge of the top half, the job of eliminating the legendary Ger Ward. An easier task said, than done! Truthfully I think the favourite would be Ger, but not to an embarrassing degree, Marie is well able to hold her own, and won’t be in awe of the contest.
Eleanor Walsh will want to make Monday and I feel she’ll have the edge over Sheelagh Elmes, but Walsh will have a huge Dublin presence around her match given the proximity of the two Porto players, and that means every good pitch, chip or putt is amplified.
Claire Keatinge has and will continue to make waves as she develops as a player, and up the grades. Already the top player in the Keatinge household (Hi Stephen, Kevin) she will have sights on the top players in Dublin, and she is ideally placed to make the leap in the coming seasons. I think she can deal with Stella Sheridan and keep the sure-to-be sizeable Old County followers contented.
McGrath and Condren will be a battle. A fight to the end, Tracey’s superior ability around the greens could be the key factor. This one will be close, but I fancy McGrath, who I think I can speak for everyone when I say it is great to see her back to her better play, it has understandably taken a while, but she is an asset to Pitch and Putt and anything that makes the sport better for the Ladies must be welcomed.
Tara Dillon and Margaret Hogan bring Round 2 to a close for me. It wasn’t a lie to call it the Group of Death, as this is another horrid tie to predict. If Hogan turns up I would fancy her to win, but any deviation from her best and Dillon won’t hesistate to pounce. This is a woman who knows what it takes to win.
That would leave 8 quarter-finalists: Chrissie, Linda Thomson, Mairead O’Toole, Ger Ward, Eleanor Walsh, Claire Keatinge, Tracey McGrath and Margaret Hogan. That’s a fantastic array of talent, and really shows the different strands that you have at the top of Ladies Pitch and Putt, with every niche being covered: The legends, the up and comers, the champion in training, and the renaissance girls.
I can see the top half of the draw going to plan, with Chrissie Byrne and Ger Ward taking to the Lucan coliseum on Monday morning and bludgeoning each other for 36 holes.
The bottom half I see being slightly different. I think Keatinge has the makings of a super player, and I think she could trouble Eleanor Walsh to the extent that she can make the semis if she keeps her composure. You would expect that if she survives to the last 8, Tracey will keep going and make the final, but Margaret Hogan and herself will be a keenly contested game, with no quarter sought or given. Still I’d have to fancy Tracey, and as such I’d expect her to have a little too much for Keatinge.
I’ll go for a Chrissie Byrne vs Tracey McGrath final. The romantic in me thinks the journey could go full circle for McGrath, but the pragmatist in me says Byrne.
Fantasy Lady League:
R/Up: Tracey McGrath
Semi’s: Claire Keatinge & Margaret Hogan.
Normally I end the preview after the Prediction, but I’m making an exception for this. Can we please support the Ladies Championship this weekend? That is a plea to everyone: man, woman and child. This has the makings of a cracking Ladies Championship, and deserves respect. There is nothing more dispiriting than seeing a crowd of people walk off a course when good matches are still in full-flow.
Given how Ladies Pitch and Putt has been trending, who knows what form competitions will take into the future, so please, once again, get out and support the Ladies matches. Especially the clubs around the Pale, there are huge numbers of ladies in and around Lucan in what I would suspect is no more than a 30km radius, even a handful from each club would swell numbers significantly, it will create a bit more of an atmosphere and I’m sure the ladies themselves will be thrilled.