Barton shield glory for Castle as Bearna win Junior Foursomes

Castle and Bearna Golf Clubs were crowned All Ireland Champions today as the AIG Barton Shield and AIG Junior Foursomes concluded at Tramore Golf Club.

James Behan, Castle’s Team Captain explained the elation after his team of Alex Gleeson, Jack Walsh, Ross and Peter McKeever clinched the title.

“We’re euphoric and very relieved,’ said Behan. ‘We’d an incredible panel and I am not even sure how many players we used throughout the whole campaign. Obviously, we were missing Rob [Moran] this week who is playing for Ireland in the Eisenhower Trophy but we were well able to replace him with a deep panel.”

It’s the first time in the history of the club that they have won the AIG Barton Shield and Behan, his co-manager Arthur McEvoy and the supporters expressed their delight for the group of players.

While the tie was edging in favour of the south-Dublin club throughout, a back 9 charge from the Castleknock pairing of Quentin Carew and Paul Coughlan added some tension on the closing holes.

“It was very tight towards the end, crucial halves on 12 and 13 for Alex and Ross, which looked unlikely, made all the difference, and made sure the match didn’t go south on us,” explained Behan. “Thankfully we had a nice lead in the 2nd match and very important win on 15 and half on 16 sealed it.”

In the AIG Junior Foursomes final, Bearna got the better of Tralee by 2 matches to 1.

“We are absolutely over the moon,’ said Team Captain Mary McHugh. ‘Really, absolutely delighted, they are the most amazing group of players I could ask for, and they all did their best!”

The Tralee pairing of Laura Rafferty and Ella Moynihan posted the first point in favour of Tralee, before Ailis McDermott and Nuala Timoney levelled the score. The unbeaten pairing of Michelle Keenan and Siobhan Smyth kept their patience in the final match and won their match on the 16th, confirming the result for Bearna.

“It’s been an amazing few days, we’ve all enjoyed every minute and we’ve had a great group of supporters following us. We’re a small club but the women’s club have really gotten behind us. From our Captain and President to the rest of the club, we’re all delighted.”

Meanwhile, Cushendall, Tandragee, Athenry and Carton House will progress to tomorrow’s AIG Men’s Senior Cup semi-final while Douglas and Lahinch will contest the AIG Women’s Senior Cup final.

RESULTS:

AIG Barton Shield Final

Castleknock lost to Castle by 4 holes (Castleknock names first):

Paul Coughlan & Quentin Carew lost to Alex Gleeson & Ross McKeever by 3 holes, Ruairi Kennelly & Ian O’Connell lost to Peter McKeever & Jack Walsh by 1 hole

AIG Junior Foursomes Final

Bearna 2 – 1 Tralee (Bearna names first):

Ailis McDermott & Nuala Timoney beat Maria O’Connor & Lucy Grattan 2 holes, Caroline Codyre & Breda Davis lost to Laura Rafferty & Ella Moynihan 3&2, Michelle Keenan & Siobhan Smyth beat Gorretti O’Connor & Brid Halloran 3&2

AIG Men’s Senior Cup Quarter-Finals

Lee Valley 1.5 – 3.5 Cushendall (Lee Valley names first): Keelan McCarthy beat David Burns 2&1, James Murray lost to Cathal MacCanna 3&2, Ian Bohane lost to Christopher McLaughlin 4&2, Darren Hourihan lost to Ronan McCambridge 4&3, Jason Galway halved with Alistair McGregor

The Island 2 – 3 Athenry (The Island names first): Joseph Hanney beat David Mooney 4&3, Eoin O’Sullivan lost to Aaron Gilligan 1 hole, Kevin LeBlanc lost to David Kitt 5&4, Conor Murtagh beat Sean O’Connell 5&4, Jack Blake lost to Joe Bernie Jr. 4&3

Lahinch 1.5 – 3.5 Tandragee (Lahinch names first): Aaron McNulty lost to James Hewitt 4&3, Stephen Loftus beat Adam Brown 5&4, Michael O’Kelly lost to William Small 2&1, Mark Campbell lost to Ross Dutton 2&1, Thomas Neenan halved with Stefan Greenberg

Carton House 4 – 1 Naas (Carton House names first): Marc Boucher halved with David Marshall, Darragh Flynn halved with Rob Brazill, Keith Egan beat Rob Fitzpatrick 4&3, Colin Cunningham beat Luke Lynch 4&3, Paul O’Hanlon beat Michael Crowley 4&3

AIG Women’s Senior Cup Semi-Finals

Douglas 3 – 2 Roscommon (Douglas names first): Clodagh Coughlan lost to Olivia Costello 2&1, Karen O’Neill beat Sinead Benedetti 2&1, Aoife Ni Thuama lost to Ruth Lennon 5&4, Jemma Barry beat Blaithin O’Brien 19th, Jessica Kavanagh beat Paula Quinn 3&2

Lahinch 4.5 – 0.5 Dun Laoghaire (Lahinch names first): Aideen Walsh beat Cliodhna McCarthy 6&4, Sarah Cunningham beat Fionnuala Halpin 3&2, Niamh O’Dwyer beat Jenny Sykes 3&2, Olivia Lucas halved with Ruth Dillon , Jenny Hennessy beat Helen McGoohan 4&3