Curragh race to famous victory

GOLF:CURRAGH GOLF Club will have to invest in some Brasso and Mr Sheen. After enduring the longest wait of any club to get their hands on a green pennant, Curragh – founded in 1883 and officially the second oldest club in the country – ended the drought when capturing the Pierce Purcell Shield with an enthralling 3½ to 1½ win over Nenagh in the Bulmers Irish Cups and Shields finals at Castlebar yesterday.

This was their day, with two gardaí – Eddie Trant and Pat Sullivan – providing the gloss to the victory as they finished the match with a birdie on the 16th to see off Patsy Farrell, a one-time European snooker champion, and Seán O’Donnell. It gave Curragh an historic first win in the national finals and prompted a chorus of raucous celebrations by greenside from their army of supporters.

On a day of drama, which was encapsulated by the manner of Bandon’s fight-back win over Co Sligo in the Irish Senior Cup semi-final to set up a final showdown today with Lurgan who proved too strong for Kilkenny, and with Tandragee and Clontarf making it through to the Jimmy Bruen Shield final, Curragh’s overdue title success stole the show.

“It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to our club,” exhaled Curragh hero Sullivan, who’d manfully struck a five-iron approach to 12 feet on the 169 yards 16th after the Nenagh pair – winners of the previous two holes – had applied the pressure by hitting a stunning tee shot to four feet. And, once on the green, Sullivan and Trant studiously scrutinised the putt from every angle before settling on the right lip. Trant then hit a pure putt that found the bottom of the hole.

James Murphy and Paul Hogan had won the top match over Matthew O’Gara and Tony Finnan, while the father and son combination of Brendan and Brian Daly proved far too strong for Paddy Peters and Noel O’Dwyer in winning 6 and 4. Once Trant’s birdie putt dropped, the bottom match – involving Paul Hensey, the general manager of the Curragh racecourse, and one-time national boxing champion Tom Tobin against William Harty and Seán McLoughlin – was called in.

Bandon caused an upset in overcoming Co Sligo in the Senior Cup, recovering from losing the top two matches to charge home with wins from Donal O’Donovan – who accounted for Serryth Heavey by 7 and 6 – and Kieran Hurley, who closed out Rory McNamara with a fine up-and-down for par on the 17th for a 2 and 1 win, before Dwayne Twomey got the all-important winning point over Stephen Brady.

Twomey showed tremendous fortitude to get the job done. Indeed, Twomey was three down after nine holes before staging a great recovery on the back nine: he hit an eight-iron approach to three feet for a winning birdie on the 10th and rolled in a remarkable 50-footer for birdie on the 13th before getting up-and-down for par on the 15th to get back to all square.

The 513-yard par-five 18th provided a fitting finale to the duel. While Brady’s drive found the right rough and his second clipped the trees down the left, the straw that broke the camel’s back came when his third ran over the back of the green into the water hazard. Twomey’s third, over the bumps and hollows, briefly seemed destined for the same fate but held onto the bank and he chipped up to two feet to see Bandon home.

Lurgan were always in control against Kilkenny – winning the top three matches with the bottom two called in – to keep their Senior Cup dream alive with Francis Tallon, who closed out by hitting a five-iron approach to 10 feet on the 16th, and Scotsmen Steve Kelly and Dave Sutton providing the winning points.

Paul O’Brien, who has toured with Riverdance and Lord of the Dance, teamed-up with Tony Duffy – who rolled in a six-footer for a winning par on the last – to provide Clontarf’s passage into the final of the Jimmy Bruen where they will meet Tandragee, who include Glenavon soccer player Ryan Harpur in their team.