Dominic and Barry win Poots fourball

It provides an enjoyable change from the more serious singles competitions.

Everyone expects a winning score close to 50 points but that does not often happen.

A score of 46 or 47 points is usually enough.

This year, no less than nine pairs had 44 points, one point away from a possible prize.

The nine were as follows:

Terry (14) and Paddy Malcolmson (17).

Trevor Mulholland (11) and Gareth McGregor (13).

Andrew Quinn (10) and Barry Casey (12).

Ian Livingstone (11) and Norman Russell (14).

Morris Phillips (15) and Nigel Bryson (7).

Shane Bell (8) and John McCormac (14).

Colin McDonald (15) and Winston Peden (15).

Kenny Whan (17) and Neil Madeley (6).

Rory Madeley (5) and Mark Carson (15).

Only three pairs had a better-ball score of 45 points.

The trio were Eugene Weir (5) and P.J. Johnston (13); Harry Sands (16) and Cameron Morton (13); David Luke (24) and Sherwin Curran (16).

David and Sherwin had 23 points for their second nine and that secured third place.

The two top pairs had 46 points each and the winners were decided on the final six holes.

Neil Clydesdale (6) and Luke Woods (5), one of the lowest handicap pairings in the field, played every hole in par or better. They finished in second place.

The winners were at the other end of the handicap spectrum. Dominic McCarthy plays off 17 and his partner, Barry McCoy, plays off a 20 handicap. They used their shots very intelligently to amass a winning total of 46 points.

As usual, the competition was a lot of fun and, at the end of the day, it’s “hats off” to Dominic and Barry, the F.A. Poots Fourball champions.