In a real sign of the shifting of the old guard, youth had its fling in the delayed final of the Leinster Women's Open, sponsored by MacGregor, at Portmarnock Links yesterday. And, for Jenny Gannon, the 19-year-old member of Co Louth Golf Club, her arrival as a serious player on the senior scene was confirmed when she fashioned a 4 and 3 victory over Maura Morrin of Naas.
All week, Gannon, a winner of seven titles in her junior career, had carried with her an air that almost touched on invincibility. But on those young shoulders lies a wise old head and, with her brother Paul acting as caddie, her choice of club was invariably the correct one.
Crucially, though, her touch on the ever-improving greens at the seaside links was exemplary. In six rounds over four days, Gannon had a mere two three-putts. Given the weather, and the pressure, that was a remarkable statistic.
Indeed, she opened yesterday's final - which had been held over from the previous day for fear of fading light - with a three-putt, but she still won the hole when Morrin, who'd been bunkered with her approach, also three-stabbed. Unfortunately for Morrin, she never did get the pace of the greens, while Gannon, after that initial hiccup, was faultless.
Morrin did draw level by winning the fourth, but Gannon again assumed the upper-hand by winning the fifth, and she went two up at the eighth.
The real move, however, came at the start of the inward journey. Morrin lost the 11th and 12th - when she three-putted on each occasion - and, after that, it was an uphill battle.
Although Morrin got a glimmer of light when she reduced the deficit to three holes at the 14th, Gannon closed her out in some style at the dog-leg 15th hole. Faced with 172 yards to the pin, into the strong wind, Gannon opted for a five-wood and floated the ball magnificently to the hillock in front of the green and knew by the applause at greenside that it had trundled down towards the flag.
In fact, she was left with a 15 foot putt - and she duly took the two that won her the hole after Morrin missed the green right and failed to get up and down.
"This win means a lot to me, it's a tournament I really, really wanted to win," said Gannon, "and I put a lot of energy into it. I've been working on my rhythm in recent months with (Baltray professional) Paddy McGuirk and my dad John, who is a former scratch golfer himself, and it has helped me get rid of a big hook that tended to creep into my game under pressure at times."
Both Gannon and Morrin, who is 21, have arrived - and it's a measure of the encouragement that the ILGU are willing to offer the young players that they have been included in the official travelling party to the Helen Holm Trophy (for the Scottish amateur strokeplay championship) at Royal Troon next week.
