SO, on unlucky Friday the 13th or, perhaps, Black Friday? - the great expectations of Ireland's amateur golfers floundered at the hands, yet again, of England in the Home International championships at Moray Golf Club, Lossiemouth, yesterday.
It was somewhat ironic that the winds which had whipped in from Moray Firth all week abated to present rather benign conditions yesterday, but it was England, capturing the Raymond Trophy for a record equalling fourth successive occasion, who benefitted from the calmer weather with a 10-5 win over the Irish. Scotland's 9-6 victory over Wales left the principality with the "wooden spoon" for a third year. The life was virtually sucked out of Irish limbs after a disastrous foursomes campaign when, given the day that was in it, the rub of the green appeared to go against Ireland time and time again. Gary Wolstenholme's pitch in for a birdie three at the last - for a halved match in the top foursomes - summed up, pretty much, Ireland's fate.
Indeed, the real damage was inflicted in the foursomes after which Ireland trailed 4 1/2 to 1/2. It left Ireland needing to win seven of the 10 singles and that task proved to be beyond them. If some satisfaction was to be taken out of the day, the respective feats of Keith Nolan (who finished the championship with an unbeaten record) and Peter Lawrie (who had singles wins over the Scottish, Welsh and British champions in turn) merited some degree of solace.
Nolan's displays have made him a likely contender for the British and Irish team for the Eisenhower Trophy (World team championship) ill the Phillipines in November. That four-man team is due to be named next week and the 23-year-old Bray golfer, who finished his campaign with four wins and two halved matches, proved to be as impressive as any golfer over the three days.
There were genuine hopes that Ireland could reclaim the trophy last won on Scottish soil at Prestwick in 1992 when play got under way yesterday morning. By lunchtime, however, Ireland's plight was quite desperate.
Nolan and partner Garth McGimpsey, particularly, wondered what had hit them. The pair were four up with five to play on Wolstenholme and Denny Lucas but the English pair produced a birdie-birdie-birdie finish, capped by that chip in from off the back of the green at the last, to salvage an unlikely halved match.
Behind them, the prognosis was even worse. Lawrie and Noel Fox went down two and one to Matt Carver, an Australian who opted to play for England under the parentage rule, and Matt Blackey; John Morris and Bryan Omelia, who were three up after six, ended up losing on the last to Luke Donald and Mike Reynard; Pat Murray and Adrian Morrow lost to Karl Wallbank and Peter Fenton by five and four, while, Jody Fanagan and Michael McGinley were beaten two and one by Shaun Webster and Robert Wiggins.
There were flickers of hope on occasions in the singles. At one stage, Ireland trailed in just two matches but, when the business end of the singles was completed, just four Irishmen (Lawrie, Nolan, Morrow and Omelia) had secured precious wins. Lawrie finished a fine singles campaign with a two and one win over British amateur champion Warren Bladon. Nolan fashioned a three and one win over Carver; Morrow managed a two and one win over Wallbank, and Omelia beat English champion Webster by three and one. Murray halved his match with Reynard.
Fenton's four and three win over Graham Spring, however, had already ensured England claimed a place in the history books by taking the crown for a fourth successive year, emulating the feat of their countrymen who included R and A Secretary Michael Bonnallack - who won- from 1957-'60.
The other match between Scotland and Wales was purely for pride, with the Scots overturning a 3 1/2-1 1/2 foursomes deficit into victory.
