Last weekend was Matchplay finals weekend and in a very rare happening Paul Gilsenan had won through to both the Junior and Senior Rossmore Cup Finals. Very few have made it to both finals in the same year and only a very elite few have claimed a double victory. First up for Paul was the Junior final where he faced the Dessie McBennett who is a very competitive golfer and was sure to give a good accoun tof himself in his first final. Dessie started brightly but by the turn Paul had taken control to go into a four hole lead but to his credit Dessie never gave up and when he pulled three holes back it was down to the 18th where Paul Gilsenan held on for victory and was crowned Rossmore Junior Cup champion.
With little time to celebrate Paul thoughts quickly turned to the Rossmore Cup Senior Matchplay Final where he would face the experienced and competitive Sean Treanor who has been in tremendous form all year. The Senior final was played over 36 Holes and Paul was receiving 8 shots over the 36 holes. This time the more battle hardened Sean Treanor was well on top early on but to his credit Paul stayed in touch and as the game progressed it was clear that if Paul could use his shots to full use then he had a big chance of victory. In a reverse of the Junior Final Paul found himself 4 down at one stage but he fought back to claim victory on the 35 th Hole and thus become one of the very few who had won the double of Junior and Senior Matchplays in the same year.
Paul is a young golfer with great ability and Sean Treanor in true sporting fashion applauded the winner and accepted that on the day Paul deserved his victory.
At the presentation on Sunday evening Paul was presented with both Cups and in a very fitting victory speech he paid tribute to the loser Sean Treanor and thanked him for a great sporting match, he was presented with the cups by Captain Maurice McBirney who congratulated all the winners over the weekend and paid special tribute to Paul for securing this unique achievement especialy in this the Centenary Year.
The Senior Rossmore Cup was sponsored this year by Eastern Elecric and the club are grateful to them for this sponsorship.