Joy for Enniscorthy
Holders beat Dunmurry Springs to retain their trophy
COMETH the hour cometh the men, for the second time in a row.
On Saturday last the second leg of the final of the Leinster Provincial Towns Challenge Cup was played in Dunmurry Springs G.C. in Kildare between the holders Enniscorthy G.C. and Dunmurry Springs G.C. after they had visited Enniscorthy two weeks previously and went home with, by their own admission, an unexpected 5-4 lead on a rain soaked day. First team to ten victories would seal a victory to claim the cup.
Just as in last year’s final, this one was filled with ups, downs and drama right to the very last shot played.
The tension was unbearable with the scores toing and froing from all over the course.
Players were up with their scores and the next time you heard a score filtering through it had been reversed.
In the previous rounds, the Enniscorthy team initially played Ballymoney G.C., then Arklow G.C., Courtown G.C., Waterford G.C. and Tulfarris G.C. in the semi-final.
It has to be said that the dedication and perseverance of this squad of players has to be admired, the practice sessions that they put in at home and all the times that they travelled to the away courses to get familiar with the lie of the land so to speak in preparation for match day.
Of course, they also would have learned a lot from last year’s winning team, too. Amazingly there are only two players common to both teams, namely the hero of the day: Davie Murphy and Eddie Doyle. Such is the strength in depth within the club. But everyone was a hero at some time in the seven matches played, a true team effort.
The day started with the Enniscorthy contingent involved gathering early at the club in a resilient and focused mood, and why not as there was a job to be done.
Hours later as the match results started to come to their natural ends the scoring wasn’t in our favour and with two matches remaining a play off was as much as we could hope for as there was no way that you could see an outright victory.
The home team were determined to win and boy did they come close, agonisingly close, so close they could touch it, it was heard that they naively told their players that they had it in the bag but these matches are never over until the handshake. First to ten wins it.
This is how it unfolded as the scores came in and not in the order that they played, Dunmurry Springs team players names first - Sean O’Gallochoir beat Davie Murphy 5/4. Match score 6-4.
Colin Doyle lost to James Sheridan by two holes. Match score 6-5.
Richard Kelly lost to the caddyless Eddie Doyle 2/1. Match score 6-6.
Alan Broughan lost to Denis Dunbar 4/3. Match score 6-7.
Mark Neville lost to Thomas Kielthy 3/2. Match score 6-8.
Ernie McMullen beat Brian Sinnott 3/2. Match score 7-8.
Ben Mongey lost to Charlie Hogg 4/3. Match score 7-9. It is getting close now. One more will do it for us. But it is looking unlikely with our remaining two players 2 and 4 down and a playoff is looking very likely so our Davie heads off for a practice and a warm up having finished playing an hour previously.
Barry McLoughlin beat Anthony Byrne 4/3. Match score 8-9.
On the sixteenth Eddie Balfe was two down and in order to keep that game alive, as we knew Anthony was losing at this point, he had to get a putt from just off the green of some 25’, needless to say he did it to rapturous roars of approval.
So on up to the seventeenth where our man clawed another one back. All down to the last hole which if he could win would give us the cup.
Eddie hit a monster drive and was well positioned for the pitch in which he did to 7 or 8’.
Conan’s drive was under a tree out to the left and with water between him and the green he had to lay up short of the green as he had no shot in.
His pitch in bettered Eddie’s marginally, we all thought that his previous two shots were not executed as well as he would have liked. I wouldn’t go so far as to call them duff shots but they weren’t cleanly hit yet somehow he ends up just inside Eddie’s ball on the green for three.
That’s the rub of the green for you. Ohh the tension and excitement! Eddie goes for a birdie three and the tournament win but agonisingly just misses and Conan gets his par to win their match. Match score 9-9.
So now it is a play-off. The rules dictate that the first pairing out must play the extra holes.
The chosen holes are numbers 14, 15 and 16. A trilogy of holes tucked away in a field of their own behind the clubhouse, Dunmurry’s own Amen Corner. A par 5, 3anda4.
The home crowd were loving this, outnumbering us by 10/1 easily, as they knew that their Sean had beaten our Davie by six in the first leg and five in the second leg.
I have to say at this point that the Dunmurry supporters were brilliant, there was craic and banter going on all day both out on the course and in the clubhouse before and afterwards. Gentlemen all.
Even though we were strongly outnumbered a good golf shot was appreciated no matter who hit it, they clapped our lads as much as their own, maybe not quite as loudly but the sportsmanlike sentiment was there.
The scoreline is not the whole story though, Davie had a leg injury from playing rugby the first day and was hoping to be drawn against Sean again to get his revenge but it was not to be second time out either.
Who plays who is not known until the team sheets of playing order are handed in to the GUI representative.
His opponent played off of 10 but those watching knew he was capable of holding a much lower handicap by the way he played, indeed playing off of five only a few years ago.
Sean played our course in 1 over and his home course in -1, very hard to beat a player with those scores. What Dunmurry didn’t realise was the determination in Davie to win this play-off, demons had to be faced. So behind that scraggy beard was a very James Foleyesque steely grin and a fire in his eyes. We knew he would do it and Dunmurry didn’t think he could. Caddied by his father Nicky on both days it was like a double whammy now heading in Seans direction. The experience and guile of many a competition win and the raw talent, determination and ability in the son.
They drive off on 14, Sean is up the middle and Davie is out on the 16th fairway but it is not a problem.
Davie irons in to about 90 yards from the pin just shy of a water hazard, Sean is about 10 yards further up. Both pitch in to about 8’ from the pin. Sean misses and it’s a birdie for our man. Simple game really.
Par 3 next and 1 up. Davie drives into the setting sun first, clears the huge pond that stretches from tee box to the green but very few if any could see where it landed due to the sun.
Sean’s ball falls agonisingly short of the green and splashes in. Davie finds his ball just off the back left of the green and stands over it.
Sean takes his third shot from where the ball first crosses the water and unbelievably dumps it in the water again.
With this he makes the walk over to our man Davie with the outstretched hand of defeat. Let the celebrations begin.
It was bitter sweet to say the least, a less than satisfactory way to win and a horrible way to lose after all the great golf that had preceded this unfortunate end to the tournament but a win is a win and that is golf, it can be a cruel game at times.