Dermot wins battle of low handicappers in club championship

Having had a superb time in Scotland representing Ireland in the Boys' Internationals plus having reached the quarter-finals of the British Boys' Championship, Dermot returned to Raceview and pipped Alex McCloy, who has been club champion on a number of occasions, by one shot.

Dermot really set the pace on the first 18 where, having birdied the opening hole, he was still one under after nine.

The second nine also started with a birdie, to which he added further birdies on the 13th and 18th. In total he had 12 pars plus five birdies and a lone bogey on the par three fourth which accounted for a gross total of 64.

Alex (-1) commenced his opening 18 with a dropped shot but he soon retrieved it with a birdie on the par five third and he added further birdies on the seventh and eighth for a one under outward nine.

The second nine opened and closed with a birdie but Alex shed a shot on the 12th and 17th for a level par nine and a one under total.

Beginning his second nine three shots behind, he made the best possible start when he birdied the first and third only to drop a shot on the fourth, but he parred the other six.

A dropped shot on the 10th was a slight setback in his pursuit of McElroy but he parred the next six holes only to bogey the penultimate hole, but a birdie on the last squared that.

McElroy didn’t have the best start to his second round, dropping a shot on each of the opening two holes, which meant his first round advantage had disappeared.

He then completed the front nine still two over but the second nine was played in level par which transpired to be the difference between the two.

McElroy then scored a three on the first three holes of the inward nine only to drop a shot on the very birdieable 13th, plus another shot went on the 15th.

One shot ahead, he completed his second 18 with three pars for a two over total of 70 and a 36-hole total of 134 - two under gross.

Even allowing for having a birdie on the final hole in both rounds, the par four 17th was possibly Alex’s downfall as he dropped a shot here in both rounds to miss out by the minimum of one shot as he finished on 135.

GARDNER CUP

THE Gardner Cup, sponsored by MED, was won by a relatively new Raceview member, Stephen Black.

He certainly left his mark as he was five under his 16 handicap after the 18 holes.

The opening nine was relatively ordinary as he was seven over which included a pair of double bogeys but the closing nine was much different as he was through the nine holes in four over gross.

This was made up of four pars, three single bogeys, a double bogey on the 15th and a birdie on the 13th giving him a gross count of 11 over.

Second place was won by Michael Smyth who, off a five handicap, was round in level par gross for a nett score of 63, only to lose out on the back nine countback.

Commencing with a birdie, to which he added two more at the seventh and ninth, he then scored five pars with the only dropped shot coming on the par three fourth.

Into the back nine with two dropped shots, he then completed his round with five pars, a birdie on the 14th plus another dropped shot at 17 for two over gross and level par gross overall.

The best of three nett 64s came from Wilfred Leetch (21) who played the front nine in 11 over which included no pars, but the back nine was much improved as he scored four pars, four single bogeys plus a double concession on the 12th - and that meant he was a clear winner on the back nine from fourth-placed Paul Casson (10) who in turn managed to squeeze past David Crockard over the last six hole score.

A front nine of level par was the perfect start to the day but the homeward run was to spoil what could have been the round of his season.

Entering the second nine with two bogeys plus a double bogey, he then played the last six holes with four pars plus a dropped shot on the 15th and 17th and those last six were rewarding.

Crockard (14) also played the outward nine very well, being two over gross, which included a triple bogey on the sixth after having birdied the third and fourth. The second nine was made up of five pars, three fives plus a double concession on the 11th.

The final nett prize was won by Paul Darragh (8) who posted a nett 65 with a second nine score of one over gross.

On the outward nine, Paul registered five pars and four bogeys and the inward nine opened with a dropped shot on the 10th but he then completed his round with eight straight pars for a total of five over and the prospect of another cut in his handicap.

The best gross card was completed by Sean McGarry who played both nines in level par.

His front nine contained five pars, a dropped shot on the second and fifth but he retrieved both with birdies on the fourth and seventh. The back nine saw Sean open with six straight pars whereas the final three were birdie, bogey, par, again for level par gross.

LADIES SECTION

DENISE Harper is in sparkling form at Ballymena Golf Club after winning the Colleen Kerr Memorial Trophy and President's Prize in consecutive weeks.

Denise accumulated 36 points to edge out Gillian Fraser courtesy of a better back nine on August 10, before a nett 68 saw her win last week's event.

The Sectional winners last Tuesday were: A - Eileen Hudson 72; B - Paddy Fox 74; Tracey Hughes 77.

Meanwhile, there was success for Ballymena juvenile Jenny McCooke who won the Under-14 event with a gross points tally of 37 at the recent EAL Girls competition played at Cairndhu Golf Club.