Mannan Castle Golf Notes: Terry Kiernan lands Captain's Prize
As many people are aware, we endured the wettest July on records. So far August hasn’t been much better, either. With plenty of weather warnings given at the start of the week, it was no surprise to see the course unplayable on Saturday 5th of August.
Having put in a serious shift across both weekends, it was no surprise to see Captain Barry along with a few others meeting our course superintendent John McBride on Saturday to see if the course would be playable on Sunday.
John and his team got to the course before sunrise on Sunday and got the course set up incredibly well considering the conditions.
The Captain’s Prize is always top of a golfer’s ambitions at the start of the year, and it was no different for Terry Kiernan.
Terry set himself up perfectly with a score of 40pts in week one. Still having to back it up, he produced a great 36pts on Sunday morning to finish on a total of 76pts.
He led by 6pts going into the 9-hole playoff on Sunday evening (which was played in perfect conditions, surprisingly). Some people might think it was straight forward, but lads have let bigger leads slip late on.
This wasn’t the case for Terry, who played another perfect nine holes, shooting 17pts to finish with a total of 93pts. No more deserving champion than Terry and congratulations on the big win.
Finishing in second position was Shane Corr. He has come so close to winning captains before, and no doubt his time will come sooner rather than later. Shane shot a brilliant 19pts in the playoff to finish on a total score of 88pts.
The Gross Prize went to Tomas Pepper who shot one over par for two rounds. Niall Duffy finished in third spot with again 19pts in the playoff. It was his first taste of a playoff, and he showed no signs of nerves, finishing with a total of 87pts.
Notable mentions to the lads that made the playoff Noel Dunne, Sean O’Rourke, Dylan McEnaney, Mickey Burns, Derek Donnelly, Barry Hand, Shane Donohue and Rory Lennon.
Captain Barry Conroy’s Prize 2023: Overall 1st -Terry Kiernan - 93pts, 2nd - Shane Corr - 88pts. Gross- Tomas Pepper 85pts, 3rd - Niall Duffy - 87pts.
Other Cat: 1st - Gerry Carolan - 73pts, 2nd J.P Clarke - 68pts. Past Captain: Gerry Matthews 65pts. Seniors: 1st Peter Marquis, 2nd Tom Fox, 3rd Michael Johnson. Nearest the Pin: Gerard McGeown (26 inches).
Captain’s Prize Category Prizes Week 1 - Div 1: 1st Bernard Rooney, 2nd Shane Donohue. Div 2: 1st Martin Donaghy, 2nd Darragh McDermott. Div 3: 1st Dylan McEnaney, 2nd Michael Courtney. Div 4: 1st Fintan Swinbourne, 2nd Michael Burns.
Captain’s Prize Category Prizes Week 2 - Div 1: 1st Barry Hand, 2nd Fergal O’Rourke. Div 2: 1st Eugene O’Hanlon, 2nd Gerard McGeown. Div 3: 1st Rory Lennon, 2nd Lenny McKitterick. Div 4: 1st Paul Shannon, 2nd Thomas Gartlan.
Nearing the end of our Summer Series, we saw a brilliant turn out for week 7, along with a welcome change to conditions as we saw some decent weather for a change too.
With a score of 44pts, Robert McCloskey was the victor. 24pts on the front nine with two 2’s set Robert up perfectly for his great score.
Second place went to Neville Fleming, who shot a score of 41pts. Donard McCabe took third place with a score of 40pts. Paudie McEneaney won the gross prize this week with a score of gross 33pts.
Summer Series Week 7 10th /11th August: 1st Robert McCloskey (PH.22) - 44pts, 2nd Neville Fleming (PH.36) - 41pts, 3rd Donard McCabe (PH.23) - 40pts. Gross: Paudie McEneaney (PH.6) - 33pts.
MANNAN CASTLE SENIORS
On a dry calm day Philip McGovern showed what he can do on the golf course. In the 9-hole competition he gave his playing partners a lesson in course management and ball striking in posting an impressive score of 24 points.
He was level par for the round with 7 pars, one birdie and one lone bogey and was the deserved overall winner. In category one, seniors stalwart Patsy Hoey showed a welcome return to form when carding an excellent score of 21 points. His card included five pars and a birdie.
Category 2 winner was Tom Lynch, whose steady play resulted in a score of 20 points thanks in large part to a very good birdie on hole 13.
Senior Results Tuesday 8th August (9 Hole Competition): Overall: Philip McGovern (6) 24pts. Category 1: Patsy Hoey (5) 21ptts. Category 2: Tom Lynch (10) 20pts.
MANNAN CASTLE LADIES
This week’s ladies competition, sponsored by Nolan’s Butchers, O’Neill Street, Carrickmacross, was played in almost perfect golf conditions. And after a wet July, we’ll settle for no rain.
37pts was what was needed to come first, second and third. In first place was Jo Morris, who had a solid round of golf, eleven bogeys and four pars on her card. She had the best back nine of the trio with the same score.
Second place is a lady who is playing great golf at the moment, Aine Fitzmaurice. Five pars was an impressive showing from a 29 handicapper. In third place was Geraldine Finnegan, who carded four pars and a super birdie on the 15th hole.
Lady’s competition (sponsored by Nolan’s Butchers): 1st Jo Morris (19) 37pts c/b, 2nd Aine Fitzmaurice (28) 37pts c/b, 3rd Geraldine Finnegan (21) 37pts c/b.