Portlaoise Golf Club achieve historic first as Mixed Fourball team secures victory

Portlaoise Golf Club recorded their first ever Golf Ireland finals win when the clubs Mixed Fourball team won the Leinster Central Area Final by defeating Newbridge in a tension packed final played in Naas Golf club on Saturday, July 20.

The team had performed brilliantly throughout the campaign defeating Carlow, New Ross, Enniscorthy and Mullingar on the way to the final but still entered the final as under dogs against a hotly tipped Newbridge side. The first pair out on the day were Declan Phelan, Mary Byrne followed by Anthony Delaney and Margaret Maher next up was Ray Carroll and Mary Downey and the final pairing were Des Rigney and Elaine Redmond.

There was little to choose between the teams through the front nine holes where there was never any more than a hole or two between any of the pairing. This made for nervous viewing for the large crowd of supporters who travelled to support their team.

As the back nine unfolded Portlaoise started to shade some of the games and apply a little pressure on their opponents. As the matches reached the crucial final holes Portlaoise got their noses in front in the first three games.

Declan Phelan and Mary Byrne put the first point on the board to ease some of the nerves and Anthony Delaney and Margaret Maher held it together to win on the eighteenth hole. That left Portlaoise needing only half a point to secure victory. The crucial point was secured when Ray Carroll and Mary Downey halved the difficult par three seventeenth hole to maintain a one hole lead with one hole to play.

There were joyous scenes by the side of the eighteenth green as the team, panel members, management team and supporters celebrated the historic first for the club.

At the presentation Kevin Hogan who was joint manager along with Ann Mulhall called forward Pat McEvoy, the original owner and founder of the club to accept the pennant from Siobhan O'Donnell-Murphy, the Chair of Golf Ireland Leinster Region.

The Club now move forward to the All-Ireland quarter finals to be played in Oughterard in September