Having won twice on the Alps Tour enroute to securing the Order of Merit title and earning a full European Challenge Tour card for 2024, Ronan Mullarney’s winning ways continued, this time on home soil as the Galway man topped the field at the Hilary Links Golf Society’s Christmas outing at Portmarnock Golf Club.
A top-class field assembled at the legendary North Dublin links, including fellow pros Paul McBride from Malahide, The K Club’s Liam Grehan and the recently Alps Tour qualified new professional Robert Moran from Castle, along with leading amateurs in Walker Cup star Alex Maguire and Bridgestone Order of Merit winner David Shiel.
Jody Fanagan, the man who famously beat Tiger Woods at Royal Porthcawl in 1995, less than two years before Woods won the Masters by a record 12-shots, was also in the field, as was up-and-coming Roganstown sensation Sean Keeling who played a starring role in Europe’s dominant win in Rome.
But nobody could touch Mullarney on the day, his five-under 67 seeing him run out a three-stroke winner over Shiel in second place, with Keeling continuing his impressive rise taking third with a one-under 71.
The biggest cheer of the day was reserved for another Galway man, however, when veteran and reigning Irish Senior Close champion Joe Lyons holed out on the par-3 17th for a memorable hole-in-one.
The winning Nett score was shot by Royal Dublin’s Michael Chambers. Receiving five strokes, Chambers’ 73 became a 68, good for a four stroke victory over Co. Louth’s Ryan O’Doherty (+1) who took second place on a break-of-tie with The Island’s Sean Dowling (Scr).
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