DREAM IS STILL ALIVE
Brilliant Connacht title defence sees Galway on track to retain AIG Irish Senior Cup title, writes Brian Keogh
GALWAY are in no hurry to relinquish their AIG Irish Senior Cup Cup title on the evidence of their convincing Connacht title defence at Roscommon. Gerry Cox’s charges defeated County Sligo 4-1 in the final, with Ronan Mullarney claiming the crucial third point with a 5&4 win over Daniel Ford.
Following a nervy 3-2 semi-final win over local rivals Galway Bay, where Mullarney won the crucial third point against a valiant Niall Carroll on the 18th, another gritty performance was needed to see off the men from Rosses Point.
It looked for a long time as though it would be Portumna who would face Galway, only for victory to slip through their grasp when Shane Underwood beat Damien Burke on the 19 th with the match tiedat2-2.
The final always seemed destined to go in Galway’s favour and eventually they ran out victors by 4-1, taking the top three games with Mullarney adding to wins by the talented youngsters Luke O’Neill and Liam Nolan.
Mullarney is a key member of the Galway team, winning the Irish University and R&A Foundation Scholars Tournaments to clinch a Palmer Cup call-up earlier this summer.
While he is not Ireland’s longest hitter by any means, he packs a mean punch in every other department with his confidence and self-belief his biggest assets.
His competitive spirit and his golfing intelligence makes him a dangerous rival as he continues his Masters studies at Maynooth University.
Galway were seeking the Senior Cup and Barton Shield double, but following their defeat to Portumna in the latter, they will be redoubling their efforts in the AIG Senior Cup All Ireland Finals at Thurles in October.
“The AIG Cups and Shields is huge in Galway, and with 16 players in the club playing off handicaps of three or lower, there’ s a lot of competition for places,” Mullarney explained earlier this year.
“We run a scratch matchplay event to see who’s playing well and give guys who might be outside the team a chance to show what they can do. So it’s serious business.”
Mullarney (22) is doing a Masters in Business and Management, and that gives him the time to play more golf and make up his own mind about turning professional.
“I’ve heard a few people say, ‘He was better than me and he turned pro and couldn’t make it, so what chance do I have?’,” said Mullarney, who won the AIG Senior Cup with Galway last year and with Maynooth in 2015. “But I really don’t agree with that at all.
“Some people can actually get better when they turn pro because they want to play for money and they are excited by that.
“Others might find it hard to adjust to the lifestyle and take their game from amateur to professional. So I look at players who have a similar game to me and try to model myself on them – guys like Caolan Rafferty and Jack Hume, who don’t hit the ball a million miles.”
Mullarney looks likely to make the Home Internationals team, and that’s good for Ireland
Team play drives him on and after winning the AIG Senior Cup with both Maynooth and Galway, and while the Senior Cup-Barton Shield double was the dream this year, a second successive Irish Senior Cup would still be a marvellous achievement.