Andrew in top spot

Quite a number of golfers availed of the opportunity and indulged themselves in their favourite pastime. The milder weather has helped and some one hundred and fifteen golfers took advantage of these better playing conditions. Just slightly in excess of thirty percent submitted under par returns on this Christmas Eve.

Top of the class on the day was Andrew Best. This sixteen handicapper triumphed with a telling eight under par effort of 32 points for the stipulated twelve holes. A strong opening nine provided the foundation of this scoring. A birdie two at the second was soon followed by vital pars at holes three, four, five and eight. Another birdie came his way at the tenth hole. He recorded a par at the eleventh and concluded his round with a bogey on the eighteenth. Needless to say this impressive play put him into first place.

With a score of 31 points Dennis McInerney gave him a close call for the main award. This eleven handicapper opened his account with three pars and birdie at the fourth. Just as quickly he ran up a trio of bogeys. He responded to the challenge with a par on the eighth and birdies on holes nine and ten. He closed out his round with a final two pars to consolidate second spot.

John McEvoy grabbed third place with a timely return of 30 points. Off his fourteen handicap Johnny was quickly into his stride with four pars and a birdie on front five holes. He slipped off the pace with a trio of bogeys on the next three holes. With further zest he recorded par figures at holes nine, ten and eleven. A six at the eighteenth was enough to see him into third place.

Five golfers recorded scores of 29 points in the competition and they contended for the final two net prizes. As a consequence Billy Leslie finished fourth with his total of 29 points. This sixteen handicapper began with a trio of bogeys. A six at the fifth was a cause for concern. However he threw caution to the wind and made par figures on the last seven holes of play. This big finish gave him fourth spot.

The fifth and last net prize was captured by Seamus Cushley. Off his twelve handicap Seamus had a magnificent ten pars on his card. However a six at the third and a five at the sixth had repercussions and he had to settle for the last net award.

The gross award went to Francie Tallon. This one handicapper too the honours with a super tally of 27 gross points. He played his usual competent round and recorded vital birdies at holes two, three, four, ten and eighteen. On the down side he ran up bogeys on holes eight and eleven. Pars at the rest of the holes enabled him to shoot this three under gross score.

The other golfers with the under par returns were:

29 pts: Derek Johnston, Ian McMurray and Marty Rea.

28 pts: Colm Donaghy, Paul Dickson, Gopal Santokhi, Garfield Harrison, Robert McVeigh, Gavin Smyth, Paul Lavery, Conal Patterson.

27 pts: Hugh O’Reilly, Barrai McConville, Tom Lamb.

26 pts: Tom Creaney, Paul O’Shea, Ian Montgomery, John O’Neill and Trevor Turnbull.

25 pts: John Wells, Richard Dawson, Stephen Cordner, Chris Moran, David O’Neill, Peter Devlin, Kevin McKavanagh, Michael Wells, Gerard Marner, Mark O’Neill.