Robbie Walsh Jnr hung on to claim the Lee Valley Senior Scratch Cup sponsored by Boylesports as he completed a wire-to-wire victory in tough conditions on Sunday.
Walsh Jnr recovered from a nightmarish front nine with an extremely solid finish to hold off the relentless challenge of David Reddan of Nenagh.
The Douglas man shot a final round 76 for a one-over total.
Reddan had closed to within three shots of Walsh Jnr with a sensational front nine of 33 courtesy of three birdies in four holes to close out his opening half.
Walsh Jnr was three-under after 36 holes and carried a three-shot lead into the final round and it looked plain sailing after he opened with back-to-back birdies.
However, a tough run of four shots dropped in three holes brought the field back into the mix. A brief reprieve was given to the Cork man with a birdie on 7 but successive dropped shots to close out his front nine had given Reddan a sniff.
“I just couldn’t stop three-putting! I had three three-putts in a row. Then I three-putted nine for bogey. The greens are mad, very tricky with pins on slopes,” he laughed.
To his credit, Walsh Jnr was steely on the back nine, carding eight pars with his only dropped shot coming on 13 as he held his nerve down the stretch and was a worthy winner.
“Everyone has been really good to me here so this means a lot,” said Walsh Jnr who benefited from some local knowledge having worked at the club briefly. “I worked there for a couple of months before I went to the States so I get on well with everyone up there and it was a nice one for me to win up there alright.”
“I played well all weekend and I was very confident going into the day after the way I played. I was really solid yesterday. Got off to a good start today then had a few bogeys and a double but was very solid on the back nine.
“The course was in great condition, it’s been a tough few months but my parents have helped me through it so this one means a lot.”
“I just decided to trust my iron game on the back nine and get myself into spots where I could hit good irons into greens. I hit all the greens bar one on the back nine and was solid with two putt pars on the way in.
“Hopefully I can carry this form into the championships.”
His club mate Jack Murphy was third on plus four while former Walker Cup player Caolan Rafferty shared fourth with Luke Cunningham and David Marshall as well as fellow Dundalk man Eoin Murphy on plus six.
There was no local winner but Alan Moriarty of Lee Valley won the best nett with a plus five nett, while Pat Power won the best Lee Valley member gross score with 228.
Scoring HERE
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