John Hickey and Jonathan Yates helped themselves to early Christmas gifts by taking home the spoils at the latest TaylorMade Winter Series event at Portmarnock Links.
Winter well and truly hit the full field on Dublin’s coast on Tuesday but despite some tricky conditions, Cork pro Hickey came up trumps in the Nett competition with a superb 67 to claim a four-shot win.
Hickey got off to a flier with four birdies (1, 3, 7 & 8) and an eagle (6th) on his first 8 holes before a dropped shot at the short par-3 9th hole halted momentum.
Having reached the turn in five under, Hickey put together a solid back nine to leave himself sitting well above the chasing pack. Eight pars and just the one dropped shot on the dogleg right 442 yard 15th was enough to sign for a 67 and a worthy victory.
In the Gross, Alps Tour regular Yates produced a typically consistent display, managing to overcome the cool conditions to navigate the course in 70. A quick start with birdies at holes 2, 4 and 6 were accompanied by a dropped shot at the long par-4 5th hole.
Reaching the turn in 34, Naas pro Yates tracked his way back to the house in 36 with birdies at 12 and 14 and three dropped shots at 13, 16 and 17 which kept him top of the pile on the Gross side. He beat Limerick’s Tim Rice into second place by a stroke.
As this is becoming a trend, the last TaylorMade Winter Series event of 2021 is sold out on the 28th of December but there are some spaces still available on 4th January.
21st December – Results – Par-71
Nett:
- 1st John Hickey (Pro) Cork Golf Club 67
- 2nd John Charters (8.6) Rush Golf Club 71
- 3rd Michael McDermott (Pro) Grange Golf Club 72
Gross:
- 1st Jonathan Yates (Pro) Naas Golf Club 70
- 2nd Tim Rice (Pro) Limerick Golf Club 71
- 3rd Allan Hill (+3.4) Athenry Golf Club 72
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