Open stableford held at Ballycastle

THERE was a good turnout of both members and visitors for the open stableford competition played at Ballycastle Golf Club on May Day bank holiday with Michael Mills, off 19, from Roe Park emerging victorious with a score of 40 points.
By The Newsroom
Published 12th May 2010, 16:19 BST

Michael McMahon playing out of Galgorm Castle took second spot with 40 points and Richard Tate from Down Royal Golf Club was in third with 39 points.

Peter O'Reilly was the pick of the members in fourth place with 38 points and Aiden Higgins finished in fifth also with a score of 38 points.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Monday's best gross prize went to Neil McMaster with a total of 33 gross points, one clear of Rory McCormick in second place.

The May monthly medal was held at the club on Saturday 8th May and was won in fine style by Gerry McGouran, playing off nine, with a nett 64.

This great score of Gerry's also means he collects this year's Mowbray Cup, awarded for the best score on the day by a member over the age of fifty.

Second place on Saturday went to Denis Allen, playing off twelve, who also recorded a super nett 64 but was just pipped by Gerry on the back nine.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In third was Conor Rooney who carded a nett 65 which included a nice little run of eagle at the par five twelfth followed by birdie two at the thirteenth! Fourth place in the medal went to John McSparran with a nett 66 and Owen Kennedy finished in fifth with a nett 67.

Mark Kilgore, playing off two, had the best gross score of the day with a two under par round of 69. Mark's score was all the more spectacular considering he was four over par after five holes before notching an incredible six birdies and seven pars in the remaining holes to complete an amazing turnaround.

Neil McMaster figured in the gross prizes for the second time in a week with a fine score of 72 which secured him the second gross prize.

The May medal was the fourth of sixteen events counting towards the Golfer of the Year and Winchester Challenge Bowl competitions this season.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The format remains the same as last year with the top twenty nett scores in each of the sixteen events determining the Golfer of the Year for 2010 and the top twenty gross scores determining the Winchester Bowl winner. Both leader-boards plus details of the remaining qualifying events can be found on the competition notice-board.

Sunday's stableford competition saw yet more tremendous scoring with Declan McCarry, playing off nineteen, leading the way with a fantastic 44 points.

Second place went to Maurice Henry with 43 points, William Boyd completed the course in one under par gross for 43 points and third place with Liam Laverty in fourth on a total of 41 points.

Congratulations go to Ballycastle's Pierce Purcell team who have progressed to the match-play stages of this year's competition following a successful qualification day at Cushendall Golf Club on Sunday. The team of Garth Beckett, Gerard McCloskey, Eamon Dornan, Terry McNamara, Michael Close, Gerard Butler, Sean Brogan, Peter Dowds, Aiden Higgins and player/manager Gerry Norwood now meet Cushendall in a match to be played at Galgorm Castle before the end of the month.