Mourne Golf Club
By Paul Gallagher
THERE was much drama on the high hills of Conlig last Sunday when the Mourne GC Senior Cup team gave it their all at Clandeboye GC before qualifying for the knockout stages on a countback.
Mourne is fortunate to have a strong squad of scratch players at present, who are hungry to make their mark in one of Golf Ireland’s blue riband events. They also know what it takes in such a tense environment for in recent years they reached the Ulster semi-final but are now hungry for more.
In a format where four scores from the five-man team count in an aggregate total, there was still a need for Carol Voderman’s mathematical skills by day’s end to work out which golf clubs had qualified.
Mourne put in a strong team performance in difficult, windy conditions, with James Maginn recording a crucial birdie on the final hole for the team’s best score of 74.
Maginn was closely followed by the shy and retiring Mark Feenan with his 75, while the ever-present Noel Crawford weighed in with an all-important 76 in his anchor role.
While number one Stephen Barker had an off day when his round unravelled on the back nine, there was also a chance to blood Senior Cup debutant Jack Keenan after his recent run of good form. Both players grinded hard to eventually sign for 81s.
Mourne were tied with four other clubs for the all-important fourth and final qualifying spot. However, when it came to a countback, the Newcastle men’s third best card of 76 was good enough to secure qualification.
It now means Mourne return to Clandeboye in the coming weeks to take on leading qualifiers Belvoir Park, while Bangor meet host club Clandeboye for a place in the Ulster semi-final.
“There was a bit of a sweat at the end, waiting to see who qualified, but we got through. That was the only goal here today and thankfully we’re through to the knockout stages,” said Barker after his round.
