Irish dreams of famous five dashed in Conwy
HOPES of five-in-a-row were left in tatters as Ireland surrendered their four-year grip on the Raymond Trophy following a 8.5-6.5 defeat by England at Conwy.
The winner-takes-all showdown on the north Wales coast was perfectly poised after the morning foursomes yesterday with the sides deadlocked at 2.5-2.5 heading into the singles.
But needing five points to retain the trophy, John Carroll’s side saw the title slip from their grasp with England edging the afternoon 6-4 to snatch victory. Despite the defeat Ireland’s Tiarnan McLarnon ended the tournament with six points from a possible six.
He and Ronan Mullarney teamed up to beat Nick Poppleton and Bailey Gill in the foursomes, with Robbie Cannon and James Sugrue defeating Ben Jones and Jake Burnage.
Conor Purcell and Mark Power halved with Tom Plumb and Tom Sloman, while there were defeats for Irish pairs Caolan Rafferty and Jon Yates along with Robin Dawson and Peter O’Keeffe. Dawson – who will now turn professional – was unable to end his amateur career the way he wanted after losing by two holes to Mitch Waite in the singles top match.
Purcell suffered a 7&6 reverse against Andrew Wilson and, despite victories for Power, O’Keeffe, Mullarney and McLarnon, defeats for Rafferty, Sugrue, Alex Gleeson and Cannon sealed Ireland’s fate.
Scotland took third spot after an 8-7 victory over hosts Wales – who finished with the wooden spoon.
Elsewhere, Luke Donnelly and Neil O’Briain made it safely through to the second stage of European Tour qualifying school. The Irish duo were among 21 players to progress from the first stage event at The Players Club in Bristol yesterday to move a step closer to earning their tour card for 2019.
Donnelly finished in a three-way tie for third on four-under par after 72 holes, with his magical 10-under third round 62 the undoubted highlight.
His final round yesterday – a two-over 74 – was rather less spectacular but the hard work had been done on Thursday.
He ended eight strokes back on Englishman Haydn McCullen who finished top of the pile on 12-under (276) – two clear of compatriot Gian-Marco Petrozzi.
O’Briain, meanwhile, finished sixth on two-under for his four rounds and, like Donnelly, also ended with a 74 with a card including a birdie and three bogeys.
However there was disappointment for the other two Irishmen who, although did make the cut in Bristol, ultimately missed out on qualification.
Five-over par was the magic mark with Brian McElhinney falling short on nineover and Joe Dillion 12-over.
At the corresponding event at Fleesensee in Germany, there was further disappointment for another Irish duo as Michael McGeady and Colm Moriarty both missed out.