ALL-IRELAND CUPS AND SHIELDS FINALS:NO WILD yelps, no unseemly over-exuberance. Portmarnock Golf Club – for a 19th time – captured the Irish Senior Cup, the most cherished trophy in team golf, with a performance of class and quality in the Chartis All-Ireland Finals at Castlerock on the Causeway Coast on Saturday and accepted it all as if it were their destiny.
In fairness to Warrenpoint, the vanquished on this occasion, there were no excuses; rather an acknowledgement they had been outplayed, and that next year offers this young team a chance for redemption.
“We always knew that Portmarnock were going to be dangerous, five boys that can really play golf,” remarked Ryan Gribben who at least had the solace that they’d already won the Barton Shield earlier in the week.
But there was to be no senior double. No, this was an authoritative and hugely-impressive display from Portmarnock – lifting the trophy for the first time since 2003 – with wins in the top three singles from James Fox, Geoff Lenehan and John Greene that secured the victory and led to the bottom two matches being called in and declared halved points. A 4-1 win to Portmarnock, and a sense it won’t be their last.
Lenehan, a 23-year-old business graduate of DCU, had the distinction of closing out the match with a 2 and 1 win over David Barron.
Interestingly, Lenehan had the South of Ireland champion Stephen Walsh on his bag, while Barron had former Walker Cup and European strokeplay champion Paddy Gribben as caddie.
With Fox beating Paul Reavey by two holes in the top match and 2010 South of Ireland champion Greene – making it two wins from two in his debut appearance as a Portmarnock player – accounting for Colm Campbell 3 and 2, Lenehan’s win – secured on the 17th green – brought the trophy back to the famed north Dublin links.
“A real grind,” is how Lenehan described his match with Barron, with the outcome crucially swinging his way on the par-five 17th where the Ulsterman pulled his drive left into gorse.
“After that, it was about getting five and getting out of here alive, to just keep it simple,” added Lenehan, who plans to spend time away with Greene in either Florida or South Africa in warm weather preparation ahead of next year’s championship season.
Irish international Greene had four birdies and 10 pars in his first 14 holes. “Once I got two-up through nine, I couldn’t see Colm making more birdies than me so I just held him there . . . this is my first Senior Cup (gold medal) and it feels really good,” said the Carlow native.
“I learned a lot this year, being on the Irish panel and getting a lot of experience. I’ve learnt I need to keep playing freshly,” said Greene, who has had a demanding season and is just back from the World Student Games in China.
“I’ve won a championship before (the South), and I want more. I want to get back on the Leinster team next year. If you play well, you get on teams and that’s what makes practice in the winter in the wind and the rain all worthwhile.”
Fox secured the first point for Portmarnock, finishing the job on the 18th. But the par-five 15th hole provided the definitive swing as Fox’s second shot finished in a gorse bush and he was forced to take a drop, while his opponent was greenside in three.
However, Reavey’s pitch to 15 feet was followed by a three-putt for double bogey and Fox, against the head, walked off the green with a win on the hole and he never relinquished the initiative.
Claremorris captured a first ever national green pennant when defeating Forrest Little in the final of the Jimmy Bruen Shield, after a closely-fought encounter.
