Men's Section
Gerry O’Keeffe (13) won the singles stableford competition played over the last weekend in September but had to rely on countback after he and Aaron Waite (12) both shot 41pts.
O’Keeffe@s round included a birdie at the 14th and 11 pars as he went out in 21pts and came home in 20pts and his round also included two blanks. After shooting 23pts on the front nine Waite could only manage 18pts on the back as he recorded birdies at the ninth and 14th and seven pars.
Billy Cairns (7), Gareth Herr (18) and Patrick Greene (25) took the divisional honours with Joseph Laverty shooting 36pts to take the gross prize.
Ronan Dennedy (29) won last Wednesday’s Deluxe Bathrooms Open Singles Stableford with a super score of 43pts which was bookended by four point pars at the first and 18th holes. Gareth Herr (17), Michael O’Keefe (20) and Paul O’Hare (29) took the divisional prizes with Aaron Grant recording the best gross score.
Saturday, September 24 – IJM Scratch Matchplay – Senior Semi-Finals: Colin Roche bt Peter Rogers 2up; Mark Gorham bt Clem Walshe 6&5. Final: Gorham bt Roche 1up. Junior Semi-finals: Jim Caraher bt Gerard Carroll 20th; Denis Cunningham bt Richard Barry 5&3; Caraher bt Cunningham 19th. Intermediate Semi-finals: Charles Monahan bt Patrick McGuinness 2up. Seamus Bailey bt Pearse Murphy 6&5. Final: Monahan bt Bailey 3&1. Minor Semi-final: Brendan Tinnelly bt Michael McNamara 3&2, Michael Keating bt Gerry Campbell 2up. Final: Tinnelly bt Keating 1up.
Saturday, September 24 and Sunday, September 25 – Singles Stableford – Overall: Gerard O'Keeffe (13) 41pts/20pts, Aaron Waite (12) 41/18pts, Patrick G Reilly (21) 40pts. Division 1: Billy Cairns (7) 39/20pts. Liam McGailey (12) 39p/19pts. Division 2: Gareth Herr (18) 38pts, Matthew McCaughey (16) 37pts. Division 3: Patrick Greene (25) 38pts, Patrick Watters (23) 36pts. Gross Recognition: Joseph Laverty (1) 36pts.
Wednesday, 28 September - Deluxe Bathrooms Open Singles Stableford – Overall: Ronan Dennedy (29) 43pts. Division 1: Gareth Herr (17) 41pts. Division 2: Michael O'Keeffe (20) 38pts. Division 3: Paul O'Hare (29) 41pts. Gross: Aaron Grant 29 pts.
 
 Ladies Section
The superb scoring of recent weeks continued in the ladies 18 Hole Singles Stableford played on Saturday, September 24 and Tuesday, September 27. This was very kindly sponsored by Grainne and Paul Jevens, of Jev Personal Care.
Mary Laverty returned the best score of the competition with a super 43 points to claim winning spot in Division 2. This was one shot better than Marie McGuigan, who won Division 3 with 42 points. Gillian McDonnell was the winner of Division 1 with 38 points.
Many thanks to Grainne and Paul Jevens for their very generous sponsorship. This competition marks the end of the Rings competition for the year. Next week’s competition is an 18 hole singles stableford, followed by a three lady rumble the following week.
Saturday September 24 and Tuesday September 27 – 18 Hole Singles Stableford - Division 1: Gillian McDonnell (12) 38pts, Criona O’Reilly (13) 37pts, Anne McDonnell (20) 37pts. Division 2: Mary Laverty (29) 43pts, Pauline Duffy (25) 38pts, Briege Renaghan (25) 35pts. Division 3: Marie McGuigan (32) 42pts, Mary Meegan (42) 38pts, Anne Mundow (33) 35pts. 9 Hole Competition: Ann O’Callaghan 20pts, Catherine Beattie 18pts.

Mark Gorham, Jim Caraher, Charlie Monahan and Brendan Tinnelly emerged as the winners of the IJM Scratch Matchplay Cups last Saturday when the semi-finals and finals were played.
In the Senior Cup Colin Roche came from three down after nine against Peter Rogers to win his semi-final two up while Gorham was always on top against defending champions Clem Walshe and ran out a 6&5 winner.
In the final Roche took an early lead when he won the second hole but Gorham won the fifth to level. Roche regained the lead on the 10th but Gorham pegged him back at the next hole. Roche then won 14 and 15 to go two up with three to play but Gorham then won the next three holes to take the match, clinching victory with a birdie on the 18th. 
In the Junior Cup Jim Caraher emerged the winner but only after playing 39 holes on the day. In his semi-final he was taken to the 20th by Gerard Carroll after being two up after 12. In the final he met last year’s Intermediate Scratch Cup winner Denis Cunningham who had earlier beaten Richard Barry 5&3.
Cunningham looked to be on the way to victory when he found himself four up after eight holes and was two up with two to play. Carragher won 17 and 18 to get back to all square and then sealed a remarkable comeback by winning the 19th hole.
In the Intermediate Cup semi-finals Packie McGuinness got off to a flying start and was three up after four holes against Charlie Monahan but Monahan was two up by the 15th and eventually won two up.  In the other semi-final Seamus Bailey was always in control against IJM Golfer of the Year Pearse Murphy and won 6&5.
In the final Monahan and Bailey were all square on eight occasions but when Monahan edged ahead on the 14th he stayed in front and won the 16th and 17th for a 3&1 win.
In the Minor Cup Brendan Tinnelly came from one down after nine to win 3&2 while Michael Keating came from three down after five holes to win two up. In the other semi-final  Gerry Campbell was three up after five but Michael Keating kept his composure and came back to win two up.
The final was a closely fought encounter although that looked unlikely when Tinnelly raced into a three hole lead after four holes. However, Keating won seven, eight and nine to draw level at the turn. After losing the 11th and 12th to go two down, Keating again staged a comeback by winning 14 and 15 and then bounced back on 17 after Tinnelly had won 16 to leave the match all square playing 18. Tinnelly eventually prevailed as he won the last with a par.
The four winners will be presented with their IJM Scratch Cups at the end of season presentation event.

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MEN'S SECTION
Niall McCaul won the Singles Stableford competition which was played over the weekend of September 17 and 18.
Playing off 10 he won on countback from Simon Ryan (22) after both had shot 42pts. Ryan, who had two birides and five pars, had cause to rue blanks at the third and 18th as he lost the back nine countback by one point.
McCaul’s round included birdies at the seventh, ninth and 14th as well as eight pars as he went out in 21pts and came home in 21pts.
All the divisional prizes were also  decided on countback with Pádraig Ó Gallachoir (12) taking Division One from Charlie Monahan (11) after both had tied on 38pts. In Division Two Conor Murray (16) pipped Ross Quigley (15) after both had shot 39ts while in Division Three Patrick Wadding (25) edged out Sean Matthews (21) after they tied on 37pts.
Fresh from his fourth win ins even years in the Dundalk Scratch Cup Caolan Rafferty continued to dominate the gross category over the past week. He had the best gross in the weekend competition with 36pts and then in Wednesday’s Open Singles Stableford sponsored by Deluxe Bathrooms he shot 39pts.
The Wednesday competition was won by Paul O’Hare (29) who shot 40pts and took the top prize on countback from Greenore’s Daniel Keane (30). Eddie Rogers (4) claimed Division One, Mark Coan (21) took Division 2 and Keane was the Division 3 winner.
Following a two week break the current Last Person Standing comepttion resumes this weekend. As only one game has been played there is still time to enter or buy back in. Contact David in the Bar on 042-9321731 Ext 2 or Club President Liam Mernagh.
Saturday, September 17 and Sunday, September 18 – Singles Stableford - Niall McCaul (10) 42/21pts, Simon Ryan (22) 42/20pts. Francis McGuigan (17) 41pts. Division 1: Pádraig Ó Gallachóir (12) 38/20/14, Charles P Monahan (11) 38/20/13. Division 2: Conor Murray (16) 39/22/pts, Ross Quigley (15) 39/19pts. Division 3: Patrick Wadding (25) 37/16pts, Sean Matthews (21) 37/15pts. Gross Recognition: Caolan Rafferty 36pts.
Wednesday, September 21 - Deluxe Bathrooms Open Singles Stableford – Overall:  Paul O'Hare (29) 40/21. Division 1: Edward Rogers (4) 38/18. Division 2: Mark Coan (21) 36pts, Division 3: Daniel Keane (30, Greenore) 40/20pts. Gross Recognition Caolan Rafferty 39pts.
 
LADIES SECTION
Ellen McEneaney was the leading scorer in the 18 Hole Singles Stableford competition played on Saturday, September 17 and Tuesday, September 20. This competition was very kindly sponsored by Tres Belle Hair Salon.
Playing off 10, Ellen shot a superb 44 points to claim Division One. Her flawless round included three birdies and 10 pars. Briege Renaghan was a point adrift to claim Division 2 honours with a superb 43 points and Sylvia McKenna was the winner of Division 3 with 40 points.
Very well done to all prize winners and many thanks to our sponsors, Tres Belle, for their very generous sponsorship.
Saturday September 17th & Tuesday, September 20 - 18 Hole Singles Stableford - Division 1: Ellen McEneaney (10) 44pts, Kitty Duffy (19) 41pts, Anne McDonnell (20) 37pts. Division 2: Briege Renaghan (27) 43pts, Caroline Dunne (24) 38pts, Sinead O’Callaghan (28) 38pts. Sylvia McKenna (56) 40pts, Marie McGuigan (33) 39pts, Marie Griffin (38) 38pts. 9 Hole Competition: Nuala Henry 15pts.

MEN'S SECTION
Ross Quigley’s excellent season continued on Saturday, September 10 when he shot 42pts to win the day’s Singles Stableford competition. His round included nine pars, including five successive pars from the sixth. Tim Linch (10), Dermot McKenna (18) and Brendan Tinnelly (19) won the divisional prixes with Colin Roche shooting 33pts for the best gross score.  
 
Saturday, 10 September - Singles Stableford: Overall: Ross Quigley (16) 42pts. Division 1: Tim Linch (10) 40pts, Division 2: Dermot McKenna (18) 38pts, Division 3
Brendan Tinnelly (19) 36pts. Gross Recognition: Colin Roche (2) 33pts.
 
Wednesday, 14 September - Deluxe Bathrooms Open Singles Stableford – Overall: Ciaran Dunne (14) 40pts. Division 1: Stephen English (9) 38pts, Division 2: Patrick Gray (17) 38pts, Division 3: Ciaran Rafferty (24) 39pts. Gross Recognition: Jason Murphy 37pts.
 
LADIES SECTION
Mary Smyth shot a fantastic 68 nett to win The Club Cup, played on Saturday, September 10 and Tuesday, September 13.
Playing off 34, Mary covered the front nine in 33 nett, which included pars at the fifth, seventh and ninth holes. Her consistent play continued on the back nine, carding 35 nett, to claim the top spot.
Divisional winners were Bernie McCabe, Paula Mc Keown and Oonagh Quinn. This was the final competition in The Golfer of the Year Series and was very kindly sponsored by Ovelle Pharmaceuticals.
There was a large turnout for the presentation of prizes and ladies could also avail of skin consultations, courtesy of Ovelle. Many thanks to Ovelle for their continued and generous sponsorship.
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Saturday September 10th & Tuesday September 13th - 18 Hole Stroke Club Cup GOY 9 - Overall: Mary Smyth (34) 68. Division 1: Bernie McCabe (17) 70, Ellen McEneaney (10) 75, Olivia Cunningham (15) 76. Division 2: Paula McKeown (28) 69, Briege Renaghan (27) 72, Leone Smyth Baillie (29) 73. Division 3: Oonagh Quinn (30) 74, Mary Meegan (43) 75, Eva Beirne (31) 77. 9 Hole Competition: June Desmond 21pts, Siobhan Duffy 19pts.
 

 

There was heartache for the club’s Junior Cup team last Saturday in Knighsbrook when they were narrowly beaten 3-2 by County Sligo Golf Club in their All-Ireland Quarter-Final with the final match being decided on the 18th green.
Managers Conor Curran and Ronan Farrelly went with the same team that had beaten Laytown & Bettystown in last month’s Leinster North final in St Margaret’s and rewarded with a gritty performance that just came up agonisingly short.
Ricky Newell, in the fourth match, put the first Dundalk point on the board with a 5&4 win over Christopeher Longworth. He went one up on the seventh and was two ahead after 10 before winning three of the next four holes for an emphatic 5&4 win.
However, Ben Cahill, who was playing in the bottom match, lost 4&3 to John Paul Flanagan. Cahill lost the first hole and then lost the eighth and ninth to go three down. He was four down after 12 and ran out of holes on the 15th.
That left it at 1-1 and Dundalk then found themselves 2-1 down when Aidan Thornton was beaten 3&2 by Daniel Flanagan.  This match was all square after 12 holes but Flanagan went ahead on the 13th thanks to a remarkable up and down from the back of the green. He then won the 15th to go two up and closed out the match on the 16th for a 3&2 victory.
Attention then switched to the top match where Boys’ Captain Chris Clarke faced Sligo veteran David McDermott. The Sligo player got off to a flying start winning the first, second and fifth to open up a three hole lead. Clarke won six but then found himself three down again when he lost the seventh to birdie.
However, he won the next two holes to reduce the deficit to one at the turn and then he won 12th to level the match before taking the lead for the first time on the 16th. They were all square again a hole later after Clarke found water with his second shot, but he made amends by drilling home a 20ft putt on the 18th to claim a memorable win.
That left one match out on the course where Brian Og Renghan was involved in a titantic struggle with Tom Flanagan.
The Sligo man had won the opening hole but Renaghan quickly levelled and went one up when he chipped in for birdie on the par three fifth. Flanagan hit back with wins on eight and nine to go one up at the turn but Renaghan won the 11th to bring it back to all square.
Flanagan again edged in front but another chip in on the 15th from Renaghan left it all square with three to play. Flanagan won the 16th to regain the lead and Reneghan got up and down from a greenside bunker on 17 to force the match down the 18th.
By this stage there was a massive crowd following the match and they lined the par three hole and watched as Flanagan found the green and Reneghan was just off the left hand side. Reneghan’s chip came up 10ft shot while Flanagan’s putt was to within three feet and it was all over moments later when the Dundalk man saw his par putt shave the hole.  
The players, caddies and management deserve great credit for a tremendous season which will give manager Curran and Farrelly plenty to build on for next year.
Sligo’s run came to an end in the semi-final when they were beaten 4-1 by Cork who in turn were beaten 4-1 by Castle Golf Club from Dublin in the final.