The historic Lord Mayor’s Cup tournament boasts an illustrious list of winners and a wonderful story that’s sure to be added to come August 12th.
Since its inception in 1951, the Lord Mayor’s Cup has been synonymous with Clontarf Golf Club. The brainchild of Jack Belton, the then Lord Mayor of Dublin and former Captain of Clontarf Golf Club, the Lord Mayor’s Cup has been competed for by golfers of distinction for the past 67 years.
Players such as Ryder Cup star Philip Walton, Martin Sludds and David Kinsella, who won in 1964, have all been entrants. The 1989 winner, Robbie Moore from Howth G.C., competed in the 1999 Canadian Open at Glen Abbey G.C.
The qualifying round is 18 holes singles strokes, played on a scratch basis, and will be contested on Sunday, 12th August with the top-64 players qualifying for the match play rounds which will continue through the week with the semi-finals and final on Saturday, 18th August.
Entry is open to players of affiliated golf clubs who hold a handicap of four to nine at the date of the qualifying round.
The timesheet opens two weeks in advance of the competition and those interested in competing are advised to enter early as this event is one of the most popular on Leinster’s golfing calendar.
A full timesheet each year, comprising of all single figure golfers, bears testament to its popularity, with many competitors returning year after year with the hope of finally getting their names inscribed on the famous cup and Clontarf Golf Club are indebted to Sean Skehan and Killester Travel for again kindly agreeing to sponsor this year’s Lord Mayor’s cup.
Jack Belton
Jack Belton was a gifted sportsman. He was a rugby prop forward and a member of all seven Old Belvedere teams which established a record by winning the Leinster Senior Cup from 1940 to 1946. Indeed, he had the honour of captaining the 1942 side. He also gained representative honours playing for the Irish XV on two occasions in wartime matches against the British Services and appeared in two unofficial internationals for Ireland in 1946.
His brother, Paddy, also won Senior Cup medals with Old Belvedere in 1951 and ’52 and the Beltons were to share the further distinctions of being Lord Mayor of Dublin – Jack in 1950 and Paddy in 1978 and ’79. They were also elected to Dail Eireann. Still, there is a clear acknowledgement of their strong ties with golf in the naming of their public house on Collins Avenue, “The 19th”.
Jack Belton was a member of the Clontarf team which won the Barton Cup in 1945, and he also shared in the triumphs of 1949 and 1952, to become one of the most honoured Club players of his time. Clontarf went on to win the Barton Cup on nine occasions – the last being in 1968 and which still stands as the record number of wins by any Club.
When the Lord Mayor’s Cup was in its infancy, a regular visitor to the matches was the great J B Carr who would take up a position on a shooting stick at the back of the fifth green. Joe played in an exhibition at Clontarf before going on to win his second British Amateur at St Andrews in 1958. Playing the 18th, he drove into the ditch on the right and, because of the trees, had to play backwards onto the fairway where he was 280 yards from the green. With a magnificent shot, he carried the ball onto the green with a three wood.
This year will mark the 68th staging of the Lord Mayor’ Cup where further history is sure to be written into its already immense story. The timesheet comes out on the 18th Jof uly at 10am and the qualifying day is Sunday 12th August and for more information contact Clontarf GC on Tel: 01 8331892
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