24th May 2009: O'Gorman takes the spoils at Offaly Championships in fine fashion

A fantastic day weather wise, as we welcomed what hopefully is the beginning of our long awaited summer, gave rise to fantastic scoring at the Offaly Strokeplay Championships today. The championships were hosted by Erry on what can only be described as beautiful conditions with some tricky quick greens. But this did not hinder the 60 plus competitors who arrived at Erry from 10a.m. It was a day that Dublin native Paul O'Gorman will not forget for some time as he dominated the final 18 hole play-off to capture his first County title. Paul started with a steady first round 48 and posted a blistering 43 second round to lie on 91 (17 under for 36 holes). Only one competitor could surpass that mark and that was Erry's rising star, Graham Newman, who posted rounds of 48 and a fantastic 41. Graham quickly adapted to a new club as his pitcher was taken from the course only the night before, maybe he has found a new weapon in his stand in club today. Other good rounds came from Tullamore's Mick Hogan, an impressive run of birdies helped him to a second round of 44.

The play-off got underway with 17 senior gents making the cut of 6 under. Best of the last rounds were William Buckley Jnr. shooting 45 and Joe McGrath Jnr. who shot 43 to secure the final 18 prize. The championship was to come down to the final group of Mick Hogan, Paul O'Gorman and Graham Newman. Mick had an unfortunate mishap on the 8th hole which took him out of the running but to his credit he recovered to finish with a 51. Graham with some great consistent pitching could not find his earlier putting magic and really too many chances went a begging for the youngster. A three putt on the 4th hole proved to be the turning point as Paul drew equal on 19 under, from this point on he never looked back. Paul confidently and impressively displayed top class pitching and putting that would prove unmatchable and captured the coveted senior gents title in style. Paul expressed his delight in his acceptance speech and paid tribute to the Offaly Co. Board on the smooth running of the championships which seen it's biggest attendance in years with a fine gallery staying on for the final 18 holes also. Paul also paid tribute to what he now describes and calls his second home in the Tullamore club and expressed his gratitude for the support and friendships that he has been lucky to gain in his short time in Offaly pitch and putt, describing the Offaly players as one of the best bunch of pitch and putt representatives in the country. He commented that those in Offaly, which only has three clubs, should be very proud to boast a number of the province's and country's top players in Ladies and Gents at present, a recognition of the top quality competition within the county. In a lengthy speech Paul thanked all his playing partners through the day who contributed to his inevitable victory and also thanked his wife for her support. On a final note he dedicated his victory to the late Pat O'Byrne a pillar of his former Dublin club Old County, a fitting tribute.

After 36 holes the top 16 and ties qualified in the Senior Gents for the 18 hole playoff were as follows: