Double celebration

The Murray family at Royal Dublin had a double cause for celebrations last week when father and son scooped captain's prizes.

Father Tom set the trend earlier in the summer when shooting 45 points to win Tadgh O'Sullivan's prize in June. In a close finish Tom just edged out the Royal Dublin president Kevin Callan by one point. And last Sunday week Tom's son Karl made it a family double when from a field of 90 he shot 45 points to win by three shots.

Karl, a 16 handicap, started birdie, birdie and covered the first nine in 36. And came back in a six over 43 en route to a 79 gross and a 63 nett. Tom Murray is a son-in-law of the 1978 captain Tom Kirwan, who tells me that he never won a Captain's prize just presented one.