THERE was a celebration of junior golf at Mourne Golf Club over the weekend as Harry Flynn won Daniel Gribben’s Juvenile Captain’s Day, while Oisin and Pete Murray teamed up to win the Gerry Toner Trophy.
Gribben had a great turnout for his Captain’s Day with 30 juveniles taking to the Annesley Links for their chance to become the 2026 winner. On a day of great scoring, it was Flynn who came out on top with a winning score of 42 points.
Rhys Hamilton was Flynn’s nearest challenger in second with 39 points, while Patrick Curran Jnr secured third on 37 points.
Scratch golfer Ryan Thornton won the best gross with his card of two-over 69. He reached the turn in one-under with birdies at six and eight and just the one dropped shot at the fourth. Apart from a double at 13 and bogey at 14, the rest of the back nine was covered in pars as Thornton’s handicap continues to come down.
Other winners on the day included Ollie Toner, who was closest to the pin on the par three 14th, while Eoin Smyth was closest to the 18th pin in two shots.
Saturday saw the juveniles team up with a senior member, often a father and son, son and granda or juvenile and uncle, as generations came together on the Annesley Links for one of the club’s most important competitions. The event sees juveniles and senior members compete as a team in a scramble format.
In another great turnout, 27 pairs took to the course and, in scramble format, everyone knew the scoring would be hot, especially with some serious players in both the juvenile and senior ranks.
In the end, no one could touch the leading pair of Oisin and Pete Murray as this uncle-nephew pairing returned a sensational winning score of 56 nett, 11-under par on the Annesley Links.
The Gerry Toner Trophy winners were closely pursued by an all-Smyth chasing pack, as Hugh and Eoin Smyth raced into second as the granda (or ‘Pampa’) and grandson partnership carded a nett 59. That was closely followed by another Smyth pairing as the father and son team of Pete and Conor secured third with their nett 60.
It was a wonderful celebration and a tip of the hat to tradition of the club and the late Gerry Toner, who gave so much of his time to the juveniles when a member of Mourne.
The day concluded with the presentation, but before that, special thanks must go to two former club captains, Paddy Curran and Gareth Malley, who got the MasterChef aprons on and had the BBQ fired up to ensure everyone got fed afterwards, with burgers, hotdogs and steaks on the go, supplied by vice-captain Paddy Small.
