Peter and Rory claim the plaudits in club’s two-ball scramble

It was a two-ball scramble, which is always a lot of fun. And, to add to the excitement of the day, the brand new short 12th hole was opened for play. It looked fantastic and it is a credit to Noel McSherry and his team of assistants who constructed this beautiful short hole.

The two-ball scramble, strangely enough, always seems to favour the lower handicap players. With two attempts at every shot, it’s odds-on that one of them will get it right.

Rory Madeley paired up with Peter Hillen and they played magnificient golf over the 18 holes. They were three under par for the first nine holes and four under par for the inward nine. That adds up to a gross 62. Their scores for the last four holes were 3, 3, 3, 2. That’s a par and three birdies. What a finish!

This was superb play by both Rory and Peter and they deservedly won the competition with 46 points.

Gavin Greer and Gary McCartney were runners-up with 45 points.

Paul McAleavey and Damian Weir went round in a brilliant score of gross 64 and they picked up the third prize with 44 points.

The experienced pairing of Joe Glass and Joe Thompson were fourth, also with 44 points.

Alex Clarke and Jim Minnis also had 44 points but missed out on countback. There was some compensation for Jim Minnis as he picked up the special prize for nearest the hole on the new 12th hole. His iron shot finished six feet and one inch from the hole. Someone told me that both Jim and Alex missed the put but I cannot confirm that. If it’s true, it’s very sad.

There were lots of scores in the low 40’s and we will mention a few of them.

John Doran and Robert Clydesdale had 43 points and so too did Dermot Magee and Andrew Quinn, David and Neil Cherry, Johnny McKinstry and Albert Morrison.

Among those on 42 points were Philip McCourt and John Lennon, Jim Gracey and Garth McDonald, David McComb and Aaron Buchanan, Noel McSherry and Bill McCandless, Paul Magennis and Conor Campbell.

It was a fine day for golf and the course was remarkably dry. All we need now is a little bit of sunshine to encourage the grass to grow. And then everything will be perfect.

PJ’s tournament raised a lot of much-needed funds for the Hospice and everyone was happy about that.

Well done, P.J. and congratulations to Rory Madeley and Peter Hillen on their superb round.

SWEEP RESULTS - SUNDAY MARCH 17: Due to all the excitement of the Captain’s Drive-in and the Centenary celebrations on St. Patrick’s Day, this little result was overlooked. And a significant result it was too. Kenny Jones became the first player this year to win the Sunday Sweep on two occasions.

1st, Kenny Jones (19) Nett 30.5; 2nd, Tom Nelson (25) Nett 31.5.