Review of the Provincial Matchplay Championships

The weekend saw mixed weather conditions for the Leinster Matchplay Championships at Tullamore and Erry and the Munster Championships held at Parteen and E.S.B. but some of the best Pitch & Putt you could hope to see was played over the two days.

In Leinster there were wins for local favourite Tracey Mc Grath (Senior) & Linda Flanagan(Inter) in the Ladies, while in the Gents John Ross Crangle (Senior), Dessie Baker (Inter) & Thomas Kelly (Junior) were victorious.

                               
Tracey Mc Grath took the main prize on home soil after some very tight matches. She needed an inch perfect chip in against Liz Bloem (Collinstown) on the 39th hole in the preliminary round and repeated the trick with another magic chip against the current holder Chrissie Byrne (St. Bridget’s) at the 16^th. This ended the hopes of the Kilcullen favourite, who was going for five titles in a row, at the semi final stage. Another close game in the final saw Tracey wait until the 17th to beat Tara Dillon (St. Bridget’s) 2&1. Linda Flanagan took the Inter title to make it a double for the host club. She coolly strolled to the final where she had a whale of a game against the up and coming young Lauren Pyke (Tullamore). Lauren took Linda to the very last hole in a real battle.      

In the Gents, John Ross Crangle (Loughlinstown) retained the Senior title over Paul Nolan (Erin’s Isle). John’s second round started off birdie, birdie, hole in one, setting the foundations for a 7&6 victory. One of the notable displays up to the semi final stage was that of Mick Hogan (Tullamore) taking the scalps of William Buckley and Joe Mc Grath Jnr (both Erry), before succumbing to Paul Nolan showing there are stalwarts in the game yet.  New kid on the block, Dessie Baker from Lough Owel, took the Inter, quietly making his way through the field before beating Colin Byrne (Bellewstown) 4&3. Arguably the story of the day was to Thomas Kelly from Granard. Not only did he arrive with the wrong club for his semi final game, but he brought the first crown ever to his county Longford with a fine win of 7&6 over the unlucky Mark Farrell (St. Bridget’s) club.

At the awards presentation, Leinster organiser, Paul O’Gorman, thanked all who had gone beyond their limits to make the championships a big success. President Eamonn Birchall also thanked all who worked so hard over the weekend, particularly the green keepers who in hard times for growth had the greens at both locations in such prime condition.

 In Munster the final days play was set over two courses; the Gents in Parteen and the Ladies in E.S.B., but both once again witnessed super form from all the players involved. The Ladies Senior final, an all Tipperary affairs went all the way to the 36th hole to decide the match. Breda Lonergan (Tipp Hills) put in a great performance to eventually beat Martha O’Brien (Lakeside) who surely has great days ahead of her in the years to come. Breda O Donnell (Cunnigar) came back friom a halfway deficit to take the spoils from Maria Kerr (Rosscarbery) in the Junior final on a score of 4&3.

In the Gents, Gary O’Sullivan (Claycastle) beat Kieran Earls (Parteen) 2&1 to claim the top prize on the day. There was further local involvement in the Inter final, this time resulting in a 6&4 success for John Cunningham over another Claycastle player, Scott Garde. Jason O Brien (Deerpark) completed the list of winners on the day, taking the Junior prize over Shane Neiland (Douglas) with a 2&1 triumph. PPUI Vice President in attendance, Padraig O Shea, thanked all who had helped out behind the scenes, all the winners and the unlucky finalists for making each game so enjoyable to watch.

Congrats again to all the winners and the other participants who made such an enjoyable weekend the success it was. The full scoreboards from each event are included below. Pictures of all the winners will be available shortly.

Leinster Gents Matchplay Latest Scores