Fourth place for pitch and putt team
IT was not to be for the Kerry Men’s team at the National Inter-County Pitch & Putt Championships in Deerpark, Killarney last weekend as the team had to make do with a fourth-place finish overall. It had started well for Kerry on Saturday as they led after the opening Scotch Foursomes with a score of 28 under par which included rounds of 10 under par from the duo of Damien Fleming and James Dignan along with eight under par scores from both Jason O’Brien and John McGrath and Jason O’Regan and Declan McCarron with the latter securing a hole-in-one on the last hole to put Kerry into a lead of two strokes over the field.
The Saturday Singles proved tough for the hosts, however, with six under par for Damien Fleming and John McGrath the best Singles scores, as their total of 47 under par saw them lie fourth overnight with the lead held by Cork on 55 under par, five ahead of Limerick in second with Wexford third, one stroke ahead of Kerry on 48 under par.
Kerry could not make any progress in the Sunday Foursomes as they finished a combined total of one over par for their three scores and had 13 shots to make up on new leaders Wexford in the closing Singles round on Sunday afternoon.
An eight under from Fleming and a five under from McCarron were their best scores in the final round as they finished the tournament on 66 under par, 798, 19 shots behind Cork who retained their title after coming good in the closing Singles with a winning score of 85 under par. Dublin finished the Singles well to claim second with a score of 72 under, one ahead of Wexford who had to settle for the bronze medals with 71 under.
Despite the disappointment at Kerry’s performance the County Board commend the players for their time and dedication over the summer alongside that of panellists Aidan O’Connor and Jason Cregan. Hopefully the chance to replicate the success of 1986 will come again sometime in the future.
The Ladies event saw Kildare retain their title with a score of 604, seven shots ahead of Dublin in second with Cork finishing third overall.
The B Division was won by Carlow with a score of 435, nine strokes ahead of Clare in second who clam the silver medals from Kilkenny on countback.
The County Board give Deerpark special mention for their efforts with the event in terms of the course condition, logistics and catering over the weekend, as the course proved to be a magnificent challenge for the country’s finest, not least the notorious 16th hole.
This weekend sees the National Mixed Foursomes Finals in Lakeside, Templemore with Tralee’s Tony Blake and Lisa O’Connor taking part. We wish them the best of luck on Saturday as Castleisland has been chosen as the venue for the Munster Matchplay Qualifiers for Sunday September 23.