Again, another big Thankyou to the members and officers of the RGSC club allowing us access to their facilities yesterday and the help they gave the Dublin Board and competitors through the day. The venue and course meant for a fantastic challenge for all the players with some brilliant pitch & putt on display
First up were the Inters with the holder Gareth Walsh (Lucan) in the final two ball with the up and coming David Horan of Glenville. However it was Robert Berney of Old County that scorched the way with a lovely 49 in the first round to have a several shot lead going in to the second round. Robert was not letting up at all though and fired another 49 to heap the pressure on to everyone else. The holder rallied to clinch 2nd place but it was Robert who took the title and by some margin. Well done Robert.
1st Robert Berney (Old County) 98
2nd Gareth Walsh (Lucan) 104
The Juniors were then unleashed to fight it out. Philip Maher and Bill Curry of Glenville fired in the best opening scores of 53 & 54 respectively to top the table. However it was members of recent Dublin teams Joseph O Connor and Keith Potter (both of Glenville) who started to make a move closing out 2nd rounds with 51 & 52. Indeed, Josephs 51 was going to be enough to win the title but he had an anxious wait to get it confirmed! Philip Maher and Billy both hit 60’s to drop back a few places with keith’s 52 getting him 3rd. It was John Crangle of Loughlinstown that nobody noticed and he put a solid 54 together with his first round of 56 enough to get him 2nd place.
1st: Joseph O Connor (Glenville) 108
2nd: John Crangle (Loughlistown) 110
The Seniors then went into action and as I looked through the field – the winner was hard to pinpoint. However, members of recent Dublin teams are high on the list and as expected several of them got into contention. George McGreal, Gary Healy and Chris Gallagher shot nice little 46’s in the first round with Eoin Mithen on 47 and Hubert Kelly on 48. George and Chris would not let up though with a great 44 in the second round by George ad a 47 from Chris meaning they were the leaders on 90 and 93 respectively going into the playoff. Hubert & Eoin were back on 95 with Jason larkin on 96. Tom O Reilly, Junior Smith, JR Crangle, Gary Healy, Kevin Bermingham, Karl Murphy and Paul Nolan completed the playoffs.
The rain came down hard for the playoff but by the time the leaders went out, it had almost passed. Karl Murphy blistered his way through the downpour and probably wished it had rained all day! -6 through the opening holes was his return however he was ultimately too far back to start catching leaders. Hubert and Eoin were out together and it was Eoin that was playing some scintillating stuff where he got to -22 with three holes to play. Chris and George were going at it too and also had the cushion of a few shots. It was George that stayed on the best though and hit some beautiful shots to get to -24 after 16. At the same time and a few feet away, Eoin would bogey the 17th meaning he fell back to -21 and ultimately give George the cushion of seeing it out. It was a fantastic round by Eoin to get so close and he would be awarded 2nd place for his efforts. George would indeed close it out and claim his first Dublin Strokeplay. Chris stayed on to claim 3rd.
1st George McGreal (Old County) -24
2nd Eoin Mithen (Loughlinstown) -22
3rd Chris Gallagher (Lucan) -21
Well done to all the players today through all the grades. Friendly, competitive and sporting are the best words to describe the field and thanks for all your support.
