7th July 2008 - Leinster Ladies and Gents Matchplay Championship Review - Erry pull off the double!

The Leinster Matchplay Championship finals took place in Erry Pitch & Putt Club, Clara on Saturday and Sunday last and what a weekend it proved to be for the club's local favourites. The standard of play was high and all who were present were not disappointed with the feast of pitch and putt that was served. The PPUI officers commented on the fine condition of the course and the wonderful improvements that have been made over the past year that have inevitably given the club the right to stand equal against any of the top courses in Ireland. This is all down to the committee in Erry and the dedicated course staff that worked in all types of weather from early morn to duck, even the unsettled weather at the weekend could not hamper the excellent conditions of the greens. The weather did not dampen the home support and a hope of home wins either.

The Leinster Matchplay Championship finals took place in Erry Pitch & Putt Club, Clara on Saturday and Sunday last and what a weekend it proved to be for the club's local favourites. The standard of play was high and all who were present were not disappointed with the feast of pitch and putt that was served. The PPUI officers commented on the fine condition of the course and the wonderful improvements that have been made over the past year that have inevitably given the club the right to stand equal against any of the top courses in Ireland. This is all down to the committee in Erry and the dedicated course staff that worked in all types of weather from early morn to duck, even the unsettled weather at the weekend could not hamper the excellent conditions of the greens. The weather did not dampen the home support and a hope of home wins either. The Gents Championships teed off at 9am Saturday morn in somewhat mixed weather, the morning was characterised with scattered showers and blustery winds from the west which made playing conditions tricky but it was a more favourable of wind direction for this unsheltered course by the scenic Clara Bog. Ryston's Patrick Tinsley and Larry McGinn of Collinstown got the first match of the revived Matchplay Championship underway. Larry proved too strong winning 9 & 8. The next match between John Ross Grangle (Loughlinstown) and Noel Comiskey Snr (Granard) was a much tighter affair and went down to the final 36th hole with John Ross coming out as victor. Next up was another Loughlinstown hopeful young Gary Healy, he faced St. Bridget's stalwart of Pitch & Putt, no one other than Liam Sherry. Some outstanding play by Liam forced the match to the last hole. Gary suffered his first bogey of the round to lose the hole to a par ensuring Liam journeyed on to the next round where he faced Gerard McGuirk from Cement, who had just beaten Edward English of Cloghouge 4 & 3. It was then the turn of the first local derby, Tullamore's Anthony Galvin, who was hotly tipped following his victory at the Erry Scratch Cup recently, faced Mark Cuskelly. A terrific battle ensued and it came down to the treacherous final hole for Mark to eventually surrender his championship ambitions. Anthony had to then wait patiently for the result of the next match to see if he would face another local rival, Erry's William Buckley Jnr. William's first match seen our PPUI PRO come face to face with the man who has long being in the Pitch & Putt headlines over the years, the question was asked if Kieron Morrissey could write his name into the headlines at Erry and cause the first upset of the day. Kieron did nearly but ripples through the local supporters' hopes of their home favourite when he displayed some fine shots that brought him to the 33rd hole. But this was where his efforts were then dashed by William winning 4& 3 and saw him go through to meet Anthony Galvin.

The first round caused little or no shocks, Ian Farrelly (Duleek) overcame a hard fought game against Jim Judge Jnr. (Cement) on the final hole, fellow Duleek clubmate Anthony Kavanagh also secured a 1 hole win over George McGreal (Old County). One shock that did occur was the early exit of newly crowned Leinster Strokeplay winner Eddie Carey (Athgarvan). Eddie came up against another top player Sean Harkins, who was on top form and was a worthy winner of the match 6 & 5. Another Offaly player Kieran Egan of Ferbane recorded an excellent win after a shaky start over Robert Bissett of Duleek on the first extra tie hole. It was his first matchplay win at a major championship. Erry's William Buckley Snr. couldn't get his game going and lost to big hitter Meath and Stackallen's Sean Downes. There were plenty of battles over the weekend but the next game was unique as it became known as the battle of the south paws Ferbane's Sean Robinson and Tullamore's Mick Hogan. Mick won what was a very entertaining match. It is great to see Sean back in action following his recent operation, we wish his all the best. Paul O'Gorman of Tullamore and Anto Lynch Glenville received the only two walk overs in the first round. Meath's young gun Patrick Conneely, just 16 years of age, fresh off his Scratch Cup victory at Kells clearly showed his intentions with a 3 & 2 win over Niall Quigley Cloghouge. The final first round match had the hallmarks of a terrific game and it did not disappoint. Darren O'Reilly (CPM) and James Carroll (Castletown) who had shown great matchplay form at Glenville recently came head to head. It was a tight game that went to the final hole where Darren ended the Meath man's gallant performance.

It was then the turn of the Ladies to kick start there Matchplay Championship at 11.15am. The first match was a highly anticipated one from the minute the draw had been announced. Local rivals and undoubtedly two of the top contenders for the title Tracey McGrath (Erry) and Margaret Hogan (Tullamore) were called upon to take the first tee box. It then came to light that Margaret was unable to compete. That gave Tracey the first of four walk overs witnessed in the first round of the Ladies, this was disappointing to all on the return of this championship. There were only four matches in the first round as Tara Dillon (St. Bridget's), Marie Black (Bellewstown) and Kathleen Heary (Navan) also received walk overs into the second round. In the four remaining matches Cathy Richardson (Bellewstown) overcame the challenge of fellow Meath lady Claudette Colfer of Stackallen, another local favourite Helen Wynne (Erry) easily saw off the efforts of Geraldine Edwards (CYMC/LC) and Chrissie Byrne (St. Bridget's) also enjoyed an impressive win over Carl O'Brien (Gael Colmcille). The match of round one was undoubtedly between veteran Philo Condron (Lucan) and multiple Inter-County medallist Mairead O'Toole (Poulaphouca).This match served up some great play and it was Dublin's Philo that overcame Kildare's Mairead.

Round two of the Gents Championship kicked off at 12.30pm and there were quite a few interesting matches lined up and a few shocks that rustled up the predicted Quarter-Final matches. John Ross Grangle continued his impressive run to secure a Quarter-Finalist slot against no one other than Liam Sherry, who again battled to his favourite last hole to beat Gerard McGuirk and what a popular win it was with the spectators. Unfortunately Liam's part in the championship was halted in the Quarters by John Ross, nonetheless he has proven that he is still a force to be reckoned with and must be admired for his continuous work in the Pitch & Putt world. Anthony Galvin and William Buckely Jnr.'s match certainly lived up to the expectation and could have gone either way but it was William's local knowledge that gave him that edge and advantage needed to win on the final hole. William booked a place in the Semi-Finals against John Ross following his victory over Ian Farrelly in the Quarters, Ian had put up a brave performance following his tough but friendly game with club mate Anto Kavanagh in the second round. Ian just didn't seem to get the pace of the greens and missed too many opportunities that nobody can afford to have against William Buckley Jnr on his home course. Sean Harkins moved into the Quarter-Finals following a good win over Kieran Egan and faced Sean Downes who had overcome the challenge of Mick Hogan, who had a year ago pushed him Sean all the way in the National Matchplay at Stackallen. Mick was unable to get his sweet revenge this time around. Sean Downes faced stiff opposition against Sean Harkins in the fight for a Semi-Finalist spot. It was a terrific game that went to the third extra tie hole where Downes advanced onwards to face fellow Meath youngster Patrick Conneely, the surprise package of the weekend. Patrick had a very impressive win over Paul O'Gorman, who's first round walk over proved a contributing factor to his defeat. Patrick had an even greater win over Darren O'Reilly in the Quarters. The young man's great flare and sometimes over enthusiasm indeed gave the crowds some exciting moments.

So the Semi-Finals were settled in the Gents for Sunday morning John Ross Grangle faced William Buckley Jnr. and Sean Downes faced Patrick Conneely. All that was left to settle was the Ladies Semi-Finals. The highlight of Saturday afternoon play in the Ladies Quarter-Finals was no doubt the first ever matchplay meeting of newly crowned National Matchplay winner Tara Dillon and recently crowned Leinster Strokeplay winner Tracey McGrath, who had fell at the hands of Tara's club mate Chrissie Byrne in the Semi-Finals of the National Matchplay. It was a give and take game that never had more than a hole between the two players until they both entered the final 9 holes. Tracey made important birdies to stretch her vital lead entering the final holes where she held on to win 4 & 3. Erry's second favourite for the title was Helen Wynne. Helen faced Cathy Richardson, which on paper gave rise to a tight game, but it never materialised as Helen showed her impressive current form on her home course. The local spectators would now be split for the first time as Tracey and Helen came face to face in the first of the Semi-Finals. Who would join them? It would be another meeting of Philo Condron and Chrissie Byrne.

Sunday's weather was another mixed bag of sunny spells and much stronger winds than Saturday the only good news being that there was no rain. The local support grew over early Sunday morning to watch the three local players in the race to pull off a double club victory. The Gents Semi-Finals were expected to be tight affairs but the class of Buckley and Downes certainly shun through guaranteeing them comfortable passages to the Final. William saw off a brave performance from John Ross to win 4 & 3 ending the Dubliner's impressive run. Sean saw off the tricky challenge of Patrick Conneely 9 & 8 who will no doubt use his fine performances against some of the top players in the country as a stepping stone to future successes. Patrick is definitely a player to watch out for. The Ladies Semi-Finals did not disappoint the local support and those who travelled from afar. Tracey and Helen served up a fine match that nobody could ignore for a second in fear that they would miss one shot that would be a vital turning point. It was always going to be a tight match as Helen had an advantage in this pairing having beaten Tracey on their home course to take the County Matchplay title in 2007. But it was not to be a second victory in a row for Helen over her club mate, despite her superb pitching. Tracey dug deep to exhibit some fine pitching in the final holes to win 2 & 1. In the second Semi-Final Philo took on current Number 1 Ranked Lady Chrissie Byrne. Dublin's hopes lay solely on Philo to deliver a finalist spot but it was not to be. These players have had their battles over recent years and it was no different on this occasion. However, it was Chrissie who maintained her winning streak in this championship to advance narrowly 4 & 3 to set up a highly exciting prospect of a final with Tracey.

The Ladies Final between Chrissie Byrne and Tracey McGrath teed off at 1pm before the Gents Final between William Buckely Jnr. and Sean Downes at 1.15pm. Could Erry do a repeat double Leinster victory similar to William and Tracey's double in the Leinster Senior Gents and Ladies Strokeplays in 2007 and 2005? Could Sean and Chrissie upset the local support and claim the titles? These were questions on everyone's lips as the players teed off the first hole. The ladies final was the 3rd instalment of a rivalry which includes the National Matchplay Semi-Final only weeks ago in Glenville and in Fermoy two years ago in which Chrissie came out convincing winner both times. Was it to be a three in a row for Chrissie? It certainly did look that way after the first 18 holes as Chrissie led by 4 holes. Tracey missed numerous chances on the back nine eight in total, all her attempts seemed to do everything but drop into the hole. It seemed that it was only a matter of Chrissie closing out the match in the second round. But fine pitching from Tracey and some excellent putting saw her fortune change as she birdied the first four holes to bring the match back to all square. It was a comeback that in the end Chrissie had no answer for, Tracey went on to win the 10th, 11th and 13th hole to go 3 holes up with 5 to play. Chrissie then pitch long to the 15th and took a bogey while Tracey pitched within 5 feet of the pin to eventually take a par to inevitably secure her first matchplay win over Chrissie and her second Leinster Matchplay crown. Tracey's comeback was certainly out of the top drawer and she has now achieved a double of her own adding the Leinster Matchplay to her Leinster Strokplay title that she won in May. The Gents final between William and Sean had the hallmarks of a final that would go into the history books and it was certainly a matter of home advantage that came to the fore in the end. Both players certainly displayed why they are ranked in the top six players in the country. Unfortunately it was Sean that could not find an answer on the day to William's performance in front of his friends and family. Sean did everything he could to out do William but he missed vital putts at vital stages of the games as his opponent chipped in several times before him. It was a similar story in the Gents final after 18 holes as Sean found himself 7 holes down and could not claw himself back into the game and as each hole passed the chances of a comeback faded. William secured his Leinster crown on the 29th hole winning 9 & 7. It was another historic Leinster double victory for the home club, congratulations to both William and Tracey on fine performances! Also, a word of thanks to everyone who came out both locally and from further a field to support the revamped championships it was a weekend that Pitch & Putt came out the winner. Our newly crowned champions will now look forward and turn their attentions to the National championships that take place over the following weeks!

Dates to remember: 12th-13th July National Ladies Strokeplay Championships take place in Rocklodge in Cork. We wish all our competitors the very vest of luck in their title chase! The Offaly Matchplay Championships take place 14th -18th July in Erry, the draw will follow next week but is now available on your club notice board. The Offaly Masters, the final Co. Board Scratch Cup of the year, and final Gents Inter-County Trial, takes place in Erry on 20th July. 26th-27th July National Gents Strokeplay Championships return to Tullamore.

Picture: Erry's Tracey McGrath and William Buckley Jnr, newly crowned Leinster Matchplay Champions.