Captain’s Prize Victory for Gerry Maguire
The Captain’s Prize competition the club;s biggest competition of the year was played on 3rd, 4th and 5th Aug and at the end of a 45 Holes marathon the 2012 Captain Prize winner was Gerry Maguire. Captain Francis Beggan having declared that he would set a good test was true to his word as the players returned after the first 18 holes the scores were high with just a couple of players breaking 70. On to the second 18 for the top 60 and again the scoring was tough with just 3 scores under 70. But all this time Gerry Maguire playing of an 18 handicap was playing steady golf carding two rounds of 68 followed by a real good 64 a total of 132. Facing into the play off 9 holes Gerry Maguire had an unbelievable 7 shot lead over a good field and with 9 shots over the 9 holes it appeared that Gerry could embark on a lap of honour as victory looked assured. His closest rivals were John Heffernan(13) who had a 72 and 67 on 139 next was Sylvester Quinn(5) on 141 closely followed by Dermot McMahon and Des Kinsella on 142. The rest looked out of it. With a number of previous winners in the chasing pack maybe all was not over.
The playoff holes were 1. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 16. 17 and 18.
The 18 players through to the 9 hole playoff set off in pursuit of the leader and outside of the final group the completed rounds saw Cathal McGuinness post 175.5 but he was overtaken by previous 2 time winner Dermot McMahon on 175 to be the early club house leader.
On the course Gery Maguire looked calm and assured but on the very first playoff hole disaster almost struck and he did well to come away with a triple bogey 8 while his closest rivals John Heffernan and Sylvester Quinn both carded par 5s. Next the par 3 and a solid bogey for Gerry but again John and Sylvester had par 3s. With 4 shots now shaved off his lead the next two holes decided the contest as Gerry Maguire holed a monster putt on 7 for a bogey and chipped in at 8 for a birdie. Heffernan’s reply was a double bogey and par while Sylvester had a bogey and par. Another twist on the 10th their 6th hole saw John and Sylvester both make birdie while Gerry had another triple bogey. Standing on the last tee Gerry Maguire had a 3.5 shot cushion over Heffernan. Heffernan hit the green with his second shot and looked sure of a par but Gerry short in two saw his third end in the spinneys but he had a clear shot to the pin and got the job done. This was nervous and tense playoff but over the final 3 holes Gerry Maguire used his cushion of a lead to get himself safely over the line and saw himself crowned Captain Prize winner for 2012 on a score of 169. John Heffernan despite his best efforts over the final 9 holes where he shot a very good 3 over par for a total of 170.5 and second place finish while Sylvester Quinn shot a splendid 1 over par for the 9 holes for a total of 172.5. With round of 68, 64 and 37 Gerry Maguire had played the best golf over the weekend and proved that he was a very consistent golfer and for a high hancicapper he posted some great scores and held on well under enormous pressure. Gerry was the deserving winner and he is to be congratulated on his great victory.
At the presentation of the prizes at a well attended clubhouse Captain’s Francis Beggan welcomed all and surrounded by his family he presented the prizes to all the winners. He was assisted in the prizegiving by his wife Gina. This was an enjoyable occasion and the 45 hole format is unique and lends itself to some high drama and excitement and Rossmore Golf Club staff are to be thanked for all the great work over the weekend..
The winner Gerry Maguire was presented with his fantastic first prize and he spoke of how delighted he was to be a Captain’s Prize winner and he thanked all who had played a part in his march to victory.
Th full list of prize winners was
1st Gerry Maguire(18) 169
2nd John Heffernan(13) 170.5
3rd Dermot McMahon(16) 175
4th Cathal McGuinness(11) 175.5
5th Patrick Smyth 178
6th Damien Martin 180.5
1st Gross(36 Holes) Ronnie Berry 149(78 and 71)
2nd Gross Sylvester Quinn 151(76 and 75)
1st 18 Holes Patrick O’Hanlon and the 2nd 18 Holes Ronan Loughran
Senior Winner John O’Gorman
Past Captains Joe Morgan
Committee Prize Michael Nugent
Junior Winner Ciaran Lavery
Juvenile Boys Josh Maguire and Juvenile Girls Kate Dwyer
Junior Girls Dasha Kovalenko
Ladies Prizes Cat 1 Rita Mone, Cat 2 Threse Cunningham Cat 3 Tania Macklin
Ladies 9 Hole Kanita Crawford
The remaining qualifiers for the 9 hole play off were Des Kinsella, Bernard Gilbane, James Creighan and Oliver Clerkin and Columba Gorman.
Ulster Cup Team News
The Ulster Cup team played their return match against Lisburn trailing 5-2 from the first leg and they produced a remarkable comeback to progress to the Semi=Finals. With one match still on the course Rossmore trailed 7-6 and looked out. Team Capt Donal Guckian was I down with 2 holes to play but he staged a great fightback to win his match by 1 hole. With the match score now at 7 – 7 Donal’s win saw Rossmore through to the semi-final by one hole. Their reward for that win is a two leg semi-final against Cloverhill.
Pierce Purcell Ulster Final
On Sunday next 12th Aug Rossmore Golf Club’s Pierce Purcell team will travel to Dunmurray Golf Club to take on Foyle fromDerry in the Ulster Final. The winners will progess to the All-Ireland series and for Rossmore this is a new experience. To reach the final Rossmore had to play a qualifying round at Mannan Golf Club and then faced matches against Warrenpoint, Galgorm Castlem, Ballyliffen and Fintona. The match is scheduled to start at 2pm on Sunday and a bus will travel to the match from the club. Members who wish to travel are asked to leave your name on the sheet at the bar. The team are wished the best of luck in their quest for anUlster title for the club. Captain Eugene McGinnity has his team well prepared and is confident of a real good showing from his boys.
Weekend Singles
On Friday 10th Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th August Rossmore Golf Club will hold a Singles Competition for members and you can play any of the days.
Thursday Open Singles
The popular Open Thursday Singles returns this week and a time sheet is in operation.