A sizeable cohort of members gathered on Monday afternoon, 16 th May, to lend their support to the JB Carr team, at an immaculate Castlewarden which was in pristine condition, for their duel with the Royal Curragh. And what a duel it turned out to be with 3 matches decided on the 18 th , one on the 17 th and one on the 15 th . Unfortunately we came out on the wrong side of a 3/2 scoreline in a match that, quite conceivably, could have gone our way.
Match 1: Peter Sinnott & Tommy Meredith.
Peter and Tommy were 1 down after 3 but stormed back to establish a 4 up lead after 10. The Royal Curragh used their shots on 11 and 14 to claw back to just 1 down after 14 and they brought the match all square after 17. Peter and Tommy played the 18 th superbly to win it with a great par. Match to Castlewarden 1 up.
Match 2: John Beirne & Peter Charles.
In this match John and Peter were 3 down after 6 but brought it back to 1 down at the turn. They then went in front at the 13 th and held the 1 up lead going to 17. A great tee shot found the green and although we missed the birdie putt Royal Curragh could not match our par giving our lads a 2/1 win.
Match 5: Tony Clarke & Kieran Macklin.
Tony and Kieran were always struggling in this match and were 2 down after 3, which doubled to 4 down after 10. They did manage to win 2 holes over the next few holes but the shot they had to give on 14 enabled Royal Curragh to re-establish a 3 up lead. The match finished on the 15 th with a 4 and 3 win to Royal Curragh. With the overall match score now 2 to 1 in Castlewarden’s favour the overall result hinged on matches 3 and 4.
Match 3: Paul Whelan & Vincent Kirby.
This was a very tight match which was all square playing the 7 th . Our lads were very unlucky with the approach shot, to a front pin location, hitting the road and ending up at the back of the green. We were unable to get up and down and lost the hole. At the turn we were 2 down but battled back to square the match after 13 holes. After going 1 down again through 16, Paul holed a great putt for par to win 17. The Royal Curragh hit a great drive down 18 which enabled them to comfortably get on the green in three shots, while Paul and Vincent encountered tree trouble a couple of times. Match was conceded without Royal Curragh having to putt.
Match 4: Noel Brennan & Monty Fitzgerald.
Noel and Monty were well in control on the front 9 going 3 up after 7. A badly played ninth hole seemed to affect their confidence and Royal Curragh capitalised to square the match through 12 holes. Standing on the 17 th tee box Royal Curragh were 1 up. Monty just missed a putt for par to win 17 so we had to win 18 to bring the match down the 19 th and it looked like a real possibility with our lads on the green in 3 and Royal Curragh short and well left in 3. A fantastic chip shot from Royal Curragh to about 4 foot below the hole and a solid putt after Monty just missed the birdie putt sealed the deal for Royal Curragh.
Fine margins indeed! The Royal Curragh now progress to the county final where they will play the winners of the K Club vs Athy.
A big thank you to all the members who came out to support the team, the players really appreciated the support.
It has been my pleasure to manage the JB Carr team this year and I want to thank all the panel members for their great commitment.
Team Manager & Captain, Des