GOLF CUPS AND SHIELDS FINALS:YEAR ON year, you get a liquorice all-sorts collection in these Bulmers Irish Cups and Shields finals; but there's added spice thrown into the mix this time, as was shown yesterday where an up-and-coming rock star – who has already performed to the masses at the Oxegen festival – was instrumental in Naas moving a step closer to Irish Junior Cup glory, while the bands of brothers theme ran through proceedings in the Barton Shield with the Crowe siblings – Darren and Stephen – taking Dunmurry into the final.
On this parkland course which offers a healthy gathering of trees and sufficient water hazards to keep the mind alert, Naas – with Miracle Bell lead singer Dave Prendergast to the fore – defeated East Cork by 3½ to 1½ in the semi-final to set up a final showdown today with Portumna, who were victorious over Banbridge.
Adding intrigue to the Junior Cup final is the fact that two brothers, Ray and Ger Lynch, are in opposing camps. In their case, however, there will be a winner and a loser: Ray plays for Naas, Ger for Portumna! Ray, though, will be a spectator in the final – having lost the top match in the semi-final to Eric Walsh, his place in the decider has been taken by Dermot Keane. No sentiment in this game.
Naas earned their place in the final with an impressive contribution from Prendergast, who was a 2 and 1 winner over Kevin Byrne, and from the two teenagers, Mark Holmes and Conor O’Hehir – in the team. Holmes birdied the 15th for a 4 and 3 win over Stephen Burkley, while O’Hehir – a grandson of famed broadcaster Michéal and son of racing journalist and commentator Peter – brought the team over the line with a 3 and 2 win over Kieran O’Brien.
Portumna are past masters at claiming national glory on the hurling fields, and their golfers – with a father and son in the team – proved too good for Banbridge – winning by 3½ to 1½ – with the middle order of Seán Cleary (the son!), John Cleary (the dad!) and Shane Ryan providing the necessary wins to set up the final meeting with Naas. Whichever club wins will be creating history, as neither has previously won the Junior Cup.
History, too, will be created in the Barton Shield as Dunmurry – who were forced to go to the death to overcome Bandon, winning by one hole – and Headfort, who proved far too strong for Galway in the other semi-final, winning by seven holes, aim to secure a breakthrough success at national level in his unique format which combines aggregate scores from the two foursomes.
Dunmurry beat Bandon the hard way, requiring the anchor foursomes of Stephen Crowe and Glen McAuley – his brother-in-law – to claim a birdie on the 513 yards par-five 18th to defeat Donal O’Donovan and Kieran Hurley, who hit the flagstick with a pitch from greenside rough. That one-hole success was critical, as the top foursomes involving Darren Crowe and Paddy McGlone – a 19-year-old drafted in to play his first competitive foursomes due to original team member Noel Murray’s attendance at the European Tour’s Qualifying School first stage – against John Carroll and Dwayne Twomey finished all square.
But then, Dunmurry – as they showed in winning in overtime over Warrenpoint in the Ulster final – are adept at perseverance. “We’ve had a few close shaves,” admitted Stephen Crowe, aware the hardest match of all was ahead of this closely-knit team.
Indeed, Headfort, whose oldest member is 21-year-old Ireland international Rory McNamara, will head into the final as favourites on the evidence of their impressive win over Galway. For McNamara, he hopes it will be the first step of a unique double: today, he spearheads the Barton Shield win; and, tomorrow, he will be part of Co Sligo’s bid for the Irish Senior Cup.
Results and details
BARTON SHIELD SEMI-FINALS– Headfort bt Galway by 7 holes (Headfort names first): J Dillon and G Mungovan bt J Lyons and D Coyne by 2 holes; R McNamara and B Casey bt E McCormack and D Glynn by 5 holes; Dunmurry bt Bandon by 1 hole (Dunmurry names first): D Crowe and P McGlone halved with J Carroll and D Twomey; S Crowe and G McAuley bt D O'Donovan and K Hurley by 1 hole.
IRISH JUNIOR CUP SEMI-FINALS –
Naas 3½ East Cork 1½ (Naas names first): R Lynch lost to E Walsh 1 hole; G Fitzpatrick halved with R Williams; M Holmes bt S Buckley 4 and 3; D Prendergast bt K Byrne 2 and 1; C O’Hehir bt K O’Brien 3 and 2; Portumna 3½ Banbridge 1½ (Portumna names first): G Lynch lost to R McCandless 2 and 1; S Cleary bt L Woods 2 and 1; J Cleary bt R Madeley 3 and 2; S Ryan bt J Burns 1 hole; P Quinlan halved with J Shannon.
TODAY’S DRAW
Pierce Purcell Shield Semi-finals – Co Sligo v Curragh (Co Sligo names first): 8am (10 minute intervals): G McManus and J Keyes v J Murphy and P Hogan; S Flaherty and J Treacy v E Trant and P Sullivan; N McTiernan and M Barrett v Brian Daly and Brendan Daly; P Forkan and M McNamara v D Farrell and D Kelly; A Doyle and J Finnegan v P Hensey and T Tobin; Nenagh v Lisburn (Nenagh names first) – 8.50 (10 minute intervals): M O’Gara and T Finan v C Cork and C Hill; P Farrell and S O’Donnell v B Houston and P Smyth; D Hickey and J Hickey v M Stewart and B McQuillan; B Hackett and PJ Hogan v A Walker and J Kelso; S McLoughlin and W Harty v R Campbell and C Jeffers.
Junior Cup Final– Naas v Portumna (Naas names first) – 11am (10 minute intervals): M Holmes v G Lynch; D Keane v S Cleary; G Fitzpatrick v J Cleary; C O'Hehir v S Ryan; D Prendergast v P Quinlan.
Barton Shield Final– Headfort v Dunmurry (Headfort names first) – noon: J Dillon and G Mungovan v D Crowe and P McGlone. 12.10: R McNamara and B Casey v S Crowe and G McAuley.
