Mourne Golf Club News

19.08.2024

By Paul Gallagher

On one of the rare Sundays when players are pushed back to the longest blue tees on the Championship Links at Royal County Down, it was Mark Feenan and Kieran O’Connor who fared best to win their respective Scratch Cup titles.

The Championship tees at Royal County Down make it one of the most difficult tests in golf, even the upcoming Amgen Irish Open there next month is unlikely to use all the blue tees at the famed Newcastle Links. So, for one Sunday in the year, the lower handicap golfers at Mourne Golf Club get to test their mettle on one of the challenging tests in golf.

For Feenan it was another Senior Scratch Cup win with his impressive two-over par 73 that secured the best gross score on the day. Feeney’s round was the model of consistency with just four bogeys plus a timely pair of back-to-back birdies at 11 and 12, which got him back to level par. He would drop shots at 14 and 17 but still did enough to win the prestigious title by two strokes.

The winner was followed by a chasing pack of Senior Cup team-mates as Philip Maguire, James Maginn and Niall Doran all signed for 75s with Doran securing the Division 1 nett prize. Noel Crawford was next with his 76, while Matthew Davey’s recent good form continued with his 77.

The Junior Scratch Cup also had a clear winner as O’Connor was the only player to break 80 with his score of 79. It was another consistent round, and despite no birdies on the card, he kept mistakes to a minimum on a treacherously difficult test

Gerry Vaughan was second after carding an 82 and the highlight came with a wonderful eagle three at the par five 12th. Thomas Burns and john Murphy Jnr were next after their 83s, while Michael McLaughlin was next on 84. For O’Connor his efforts were good enough to win the gross and nett in the Junior Scratch Cup.

In the EuroSpar sponsored August Medal, it was youth that came to the fore as a couple of Juvenile members battled for honours before James Rodgers took the spoils with a sensational winning nett 65.

Rodgers, who plays off 10, enjoyed birdies at the first and 16th in his round of 75. His winning score was enough to deny nearest challengers Matthew Murphy and Declan Morgan, who both returned 67s. Murphy is one of Mourne’s most promising young players and he put on a putting exhibition while securing top spot in Division 1.

Behind Rodgers in Division 2, it was Sean Paul Murray (68), Gerard Quigley (70) and Aidan Small (70) who secured vouchers, while in Division 3 Mark Keane and Andy Beattie were the respective 1-2 with their pair of 72s. Noel Crawford took the Smyths Centra sponsored gross prize with his fine level par 71, one shot ahead of his brother Eamonn.

Thursday’s Stableford competition was won by Callum Morgan who won with 38 points. Despite opening with a double bogey, ‘Columbo’ soon solved the problem with three birdies in his round, including a fine birdie at the 18th.

Mark Guinness Jnr was second with 37 points, while Ciaran Murtagh and Ross Methven returned 36 points, one better than Murphy Jnr, who carried his good form on from the Junior Scratch Cup.

Special mention to the Mourne members who were also in action at the Golf Ireland Irish Senior Close Championship at Kilkeel recently. Hugh Smyth Snr, his son Greg, Noel Crawford, Matthew Davey and Peter Murphy all made it up the coast road to compete in the over-50s event.

Crawford gave an excellent account of himself by qualifying before bowing out to Shane Kenneally from Kinsale in the knockout stages. There was plenty to cheer about in the Veterans’ category as Smyth Snr had a great run to the semi-finals only to be denied by Karl Bornemann from Douglas in Co Cork.