The Under 16 Strokeplay title was up for grabs in Old County on Saturday morning and it was expected to be a keenly contested affair with players from the host club, Long Meadows and Portmarnock tipped to challenge strongly. After 18 holes it was home player Ross O’Reilly who led the way with a 53,however he was just one clear of Long Meadows D.Keogh. Portmarnock’s Aaron Donnelly was also in the chasing pack with a number tightly bunched together.
In the second round, we wondered whether anyone could pull away from the pack and it was the leader Ross O’ Reilly who made his charge. Ross fired in a 2nd round of 49 which was highly impressive on the hard greens in O’Toole Park. The chasing park could not match Rosses efforts and he powered to a seven shot win over Long Meadows Keogh. Portmarnock’s Aaron Donnelly finished in third place. It was a close finish for runner up with surprisingly home favourite and Matchplay champion Jamie Power did not feature in this race. The day though belonged to Ross who added the Dublin title to the Leinster Boys Title he won at the same venue in 2012. The result will enhance Ross chances of representing his county in the Inter Counties in McBride and Navan in August.
The girls event went to Molly McCarthy from Lucan who finished on123. Attention will now switch to the Dublin Matchplay in Long Meadows next month where O’Reilly will be favoured to complete a double after this display.
Thanks to Old County for providing an excellent challenging course for these championships