Captain’s Prize 2011
Kevin Farrell Receives the Gents Captain's prize 2011 from Captain Larry McGinn
Last weekend saw what has to be one of the most sensational Captain’s Prize competitions that was ever held in Collinstown. Firstly the prizes on display from our two captains Larry McGinn and Liz Bloem were nothing short of exceptional. The huge attendance from the members over the weekend was a tribute to the respect these two individuals command within the club. And finally the weather ‘played ball’ as well, as the forecast was proved wrong in that we had excellent weather for the majority of the weekend.
The competition kicked off at 2pm on Friday with the Glenidan contingent of the Buckleys and Carters first on the tee-box. The early move was made from the new senior within the club – Martin Carter with a superb 46. This was followed shortly afterwards with another 46 from the in-form Kevin Farrell. Some other decent rounds were recorded but the conditions were not set for a big score on the opening day.
Saturday morning came and the sun appeared and everything changed. The rounds started pouring in as Martin Carter took the lead on 19 under with another 46. Liam Hetherton recorded two 48′s to join him on 19 under and Peter Dolan recorded the best round so far with a 45. This was soon beaten by a superb 43 by Liam Buckley so move him to 19 under also. As the evening drew in the consensus was that the scoring had been done for the day but this couldn’t have been further from the truth. Liam Buckley added a stunning 41 to his 43 to move 5 clear of the field on 24 under and in many people’s eyes – into an unassailable lead.
Sunday morning came and the scores kept coming in. Peter Dolan added another 45 to join the party on 19 under. Rene Bloem knocked in a 46 to move him and the cut to 17 under. Then Kevin Farrell produced a superb 45 to move to 23 under – one behind Liam Buckley. So it looked like the scoring was done and the qualifiers decided but John Browne was still to have his say in matters. After a frustrating weekend of not finding a score he suddenly produced a 44 with less than 2 hours to go till last card. His next round bore no fruits but his final round of the day was certainly did. Browne recorded his personal best score in competition – a superb 41 to put him right back in the picture.
- Ena Clinton recieves the Ladies Captain’s prize from Captain Liz Bloem
And so the scene was set for the play-off. Buckley led on 24 under with Farrell and Browne both on 23 and then Carter, Hetherton and Dolan on 19. From early doors it became a 3 horse race as all three front men performed superbly to pull away from the field. Buckley and Browne were both 5 under for 9 to move to 29 and 28 under respectively. At this stage Farrell was also 29 under leaving the 11th. Birdies on 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 though for Kevin Farrell kicked him to an astonishing 34 under par and his Mullingar followers were going crazy on the course. An unlucky bogie on the last left him clubhouse leader on 33 under.
At this stage Liam Buckley was 32 under after 15 and John Browne was 30 under so it was still all to play for. Liam made birdie on 16 to go to 33 as Browne’s birdie putt slipped by the hole. Browne however made birdie on 17 to keep alive the slimmest of hopes. Liam had a putt on 17 to go into the lead but it broke at the last minute. Onto 18 and John Browne with the honour needed a hole-in-one to tie the lead. He hit one of his best pitches all day and the crowd called for it to find the hole. The ball made its way towards the hole and at the very last minute sat on the lip – it was typical of the excitement that had channeled through the entire weekend.
So Browne had fallen one short but Buckley still had the opportunity to win it in regulation. A solid pitch left him with an eight footer to take the spoils. But despite his best efforts the putt slipped past the hole and so we had a 9 hole play-off. Kevin by virtue of his handicap started the 9 hole play-off with a shot and half lead and capitalized with a birdie on the first. Liam matched the birdie on the 4th and they both made birdie on the 6th. Kevin took a substantial lead on 7 though by once again making birdie and Liams putt slipped by. Liam again made birdie on 8 while Kevin made an excellent par. Both men found the green on 9 which meant Kevin had 2 putts to win and when his first putt sat on the lip it was game over. I think I can safely say that never before has Collinstown seen such an atmosphere for the conclusion of a tournament.
Kevin was very gracious in his speech and a little emotional as well. He complimented Liam on his sporting behaviour and finished his speech with a handshake to the man that came second – a very nice touch!
The Ladies event was sadly lacking numbers as we are very short on Ladies in the club at the moment. That still does not take away from the ladies that competed though and in the end Ena Clinton was the runaway winner from Moira Nugent in second. Ena also gave an emotional speech saying that she was proud that her first ever captain’s prize win came when her niece, Liz, was captain. The club members were also delighted to see Kathleen Bray compete again and play as well as she always has.
The weekend did not stop with the prize winners though – it was a weekend that broke many records. The first being the amount of money taken in outdid any previous year. The best winning total ever was recorded – 33 under. The lowest cut ever was also recorded – 19 under par. Two people shot the lowest round ever recorded in the competition – 41 and the most number of holes-in-one were recorded – 8. On top of that on a personal level – new member Clive Byrne recorded his best round in competition – a 52, Michael Flynn shot his best round since switching left handed – also a 52 and Des Carter recorded a level par to win a small side wager from the local bookie.
All-in-all I think it was the weekend to beat all weekends in Collinstown and it’s great to see the club in such good shape. A special word of thanks to two superb captains once again – Liz and Larry – ye are a credit to yourselves and the club is very proud to have ye as members.
Liam Buckley - Gents Captain's Prize runner-up 2011
Moira Nugent - Ladies Captain' Prize runner-up 2011