Egan's Order of Merit competition heating up

Mullingar Golf Club Notes

Last Friday September 6, saw glorious sunshine and another full timesheet for our successful Friday Opens. The competition is seriously heating up in the Egans Order of Merit. To see your placing in the Order of Merit, you can check the standings on Club V1. A total of 78 players participated, with visitors coming from 18 different clubs. Next Friday September 13, will be Round 10 of the Summer Series, which is kindly sponsored by Egans Auctioneers.

Results

Gents Winner: Michael Maguire (12) - 43 pts; Ladies Winner: Orla Foley (7), Headfort GC - 41 pts; Gross: David Tynan (1) - 34 Gross pts; Ladies Runner-Up: Miriam MacManus (26) - 39 pts; Gents Runner-Up: Derek Ruane (11) - 39 pts; Junior Boy: Oisin Scally (7) - 27 pts.

Junior Golf

Our Junior Golfers played again last Sunday September 1, in the adult/junior competition. This is a wonderful event that encourages our junior players to continue playing and improving their skills. We hope to see continued enthusiasm and participation from our young golfers.

Ladies’ Branch

Wednesday September 4 - 18 Hole Stableford Competition Sponsored by Keane’s HealthPoint Pharmacy

On Wednesday September 4, the weather conditions were challenging, with wet conditions for our 18-hole Stableford competition. Many thanks to Keane’s HealthPoint Pharmacy for their very generous sponsorship and the amazing array of prizes for this competition.

Results

Winner: Jackie Mills (21) - 39 pts; 2nd Place: Mary Stuart (22) - 38 pts; Gross: Anna Jones (15) - 22 gross pts; Category 1: Mary McCauley (16) - 34 pts; Category 2: Bridie Shaw (21) - 36 pts; Category 3: Patricia Gardiner (25) - 37 pts; Category 4: Mary Geary (36) - 37 pts; Back 9: Karen Shaw (24) - 22 pts; Senior: Breda O’Carroll (19) - 34 pts; Super Senior: Helen Lynch (30) - 30 pts.

There was a total of 68 entries for the 18-hole competition and 23 entries for the 9-hole competition. Congratulations to Jackie Mills, who was the overall winner, and to all the other prize winners.

Wednesday September 11 - Upcoming 18 Hole Stroke Sponsored by Home Instead

Next Wednesday September 11, will feature an 18-hole stroke competition kindly sponsored by Home Instead. Home Instead Westmeath are leading providers of home care services, covering the entire region of Westmeath. They provide top-quality, relationship-based care services to older people in local communities. A heartfelt thanks to Home Instead for their very generous sponsorship to the Ladies Branch.

Competition fixtures

Wednesday September 11: 18 Hole Stroke Play Competition, kindly sponsored by Home Instead.

Wednesday September 18: Lady Captain Sheila Cassidy’s Away Day at Headfort Golf Club, kindly sponsored by the Ladies Branch. There are still two places available at 2:10 and 2:40 pm if anyone would like to join. The cost is €65 per person, including a meal afterward.

We look forward to seeing you all on the course!

Countess of Granard Cup

Congratulations to Norma Mullen and Elizabeth Mahon, who won the Fourball Better Ball competition at Specsavers Mullingar earlier in the summer. This competition was also a qualifier for the Countess of Granard Cup, which raises funds for the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI). Norma and Elizabeth represented Mullingar Golf Club in the regional final in Wicklow on Monday August 26. The top three pairs qualified for the final, which takes place at Mullingar Golf Club on Friday September 13. The winners will be rewarded with a trip to St. Andrew’s, where they get an amazing opportunity to play three rounds of golf, sponsored by Flogas. We wish Norma and Elizabeth the very best of luck in the final.

PGA Tankard

Bridie Shaw, Jimmy Murtagh, and Corey Doherty competed in the semi-final of the PGA Tankard last week. The weather conditions were less than ideal, with heavy rain to start. Bridie, after scratching the first two holes, pulled it together for a win with 38 points. Bridie will play in the PGA Tankard Final on Friday October 4 at Druids Heath. We wish her the best of luck in the final.

Hi/Low Competition

Congratulations to Cally O’Donovan and Mary J. McCormack, who have reached the semi-final of the Hi/Low competition. Cally and Mary J. will battle it out against Lady Vice-Captain Aideen Kelleghan and Vera Martin. The two teams will be competing for victory. We wish both teams the best of luck in the final.

Gents’ Branch

Sunday Competition

Kindly sponsored by the Men’s Branch, last Sunday’s 18-hole singles stableford competition saw 126 entries. The day was a scorcher and marked the end of the summer season. The winners, with some impressive scores, were as follows:

Winner: John Dromey (04) - 42 pts; Gross: David Tynan (02) - 34 gross pts; Cat I (0-9): Bernard McDonnell (07) - 40 pts; Cat II (10-18): James Devine (11) - 42 pts; Cat III (19-28): Dermot Maloney (22) - 38 pts; Senior: Tim Moorhead (18) - 38 pts.

Congratulations and well played, everyone.

Tudenham Cup

The Final of the Tudenham Cup was played in Mullingar on a beautiful sunny Saturday September 7. It featured the teams of Esker Hills and Concra Wood, and the skilful talents on show were a testament to why they had made it to the Final. In the end, the Offaly men proved too strong for the gallant men from Monaghan. A great day was had by all, with both sets of supporters and players being very complimentary of our course and hospitality. Congratulations to all involved, and of course, to the winning Esker Hills team.

Seniors

The Senior golfers were back to the weekly 9-hole format last Tuesday September 3, with bonus points back in play, and Summer Rules still applicable. An impressive total of 57 played the 9 holes, with the following results:

Winner: Joe Martin (13) - 21 + 15 bonus = 36 pts. Runner Up: Kevin Barry (12) - 20 + 16 bonus = 36 pts. Third: Pat Reynolds (12) - 20 + 15 bonus = 35 pts. Super Senior: Eunan McCormack (13) - 18 + 16 bonus = 34 pts. Super Super Senior: John Maher (11) - 18 + 16 bonus = 34 pts. Best of the Day: Andrew O’Rourke (12) - 20 pts. Congratulations and well played to the winners.

Four weeks remain in this season’s Golfer of the Year, which is calculated on cards prior to the award of bonus points. The last day for GOTY will be the Senior Captain’s Prize on Tuesday September 24. Current top ten placings are as follows: Tommie Kelly 180, Pat Reynolds 122, Martin Little 113, John Ahern 99, Martin Ryan 97, Eamonn Shaw 85, Donald Bell 84, Paddy Poynton 83, Eric Craig 75, and Ciaran O’Keeffe 73. Well played everyone (especially Tommie Kelly), and best of luck in the closing stretch.

Don’t forget to put in your diary the Senior Captain’s Dinner on Thursday September 24. This will be a great chance to express our gratitude to Captain Pat for all his hard work throughout the season. Everyone is eager to share their many hard luck stories over a sumptuous dinner. (Don’t forget to add your name to the sheet on the notice board under ‘Beef’ or ‘Salmon’!)

VC Long Handicap (Thursday)

The long handicap competition, played last Thursday September 5, was kindly and generously sponsored by Vice Captain Frank Cotter. Played over 9 holes, the results were as follows:

Overall Winner: Patrick Reynolds (23) - 22 pts; Cat I (16-20): Patrick Donohue (18) - 20 pts; Cat II (21-26): Sean Murphy (25) - 21 pts; Cat III (27+): Willie Brennan (30) - 21 pts.

Well played, everyone.

Apologies to last week’s Cat II winner, Andrew O’Rourke (25), whose fabulous score of 30 points for 12 holes was under-reported as 26 pts. Oops, mea culpa, Andrew.

Matchplay Competitions

Best of luck to all the finalists of our Club Singles, Fourballs, and Foursomes. The winners of these finals will be decided next week. Watch this space.

Inter-Club Competitions

Congratulations and commiserations, in equal measure, must go to Joe Bracken’s team, who played heroically up to, and in, the Final of the Duggan Cup, decided on Sunday September 8. Sadly for Bracken’s Boys, home advantage was too much to overcome, with the formidable Edenderry team coming from 2 matches down to win the last 3 matches. Two of these foursomes were only decided on the 18th green. How close was that! Mullingar’s team squad consisted of: John Plunkett and Michael Donnellan, Kieran McGurran and Gerry Caffrey, Eamonn Shaw and Liam Lynam, Finian Whelehan and John Shaw, Mick McCarthy and Joe Kelly, and Jim Curran and Donald Bell. Team Manager Joe Bracken was ably assisted by Tommy Lyng, Philip Hand, and Frank Cotter. Hard luck lads, you did your Club proud.

Prize Presentations

Attention all recent prize winners: Please note that on Sunday September 15 at 19:30 hrs, there will be a presentation to all prize winners for the following competitions:

Joe Bracken Family Open, Rotary Prize, Conor Moore, Corey Doherty PGA, Lady President Prize to Men, Men’s Branch Prize. Also included will be the North Midland Credit Union Senior Open and the Canore Long Handicap Open.

Out of respect for our generous sponsors, the Men’s Branch feels that it is incumbent upon all prize winners to please be in attendance. However, in the unfortunate event that a prize winner is unable to attend, a representative should be appointed to attend in their place.

In addition, Long Handicap Presentations are scheduled for Thursday September 12 at 20:00 hrs. These will be in respect of the previous seven (7 no.) Long Handicap competitions.

Next week’s competitions

Tuesday September 10: Seniors; Thursday September 12: Long Handicap kindly sponsored by James Maguire Family Butchers; Friday September 13: Ladies and Gents 18H Open Singles Stableford, kindly sponsored by ORS Consulting Engineers; Saturday September 14: Men’s Branch Matchplay Finals; Sunday September 15: Gents 18H Singles Stableford off Blues, kindly sponsored by the Men’s Branch.