Back nine surge powers McAteer to House Committee Cup victory

A back nine surge that included six three pointers and a birdie for four points saw Ciaran McAteer (20) emerge as clear winner of the weekend House Committee Cup Singles Stableford Competition with 45 points.

His outward nine started in spectacular fashion with an eagle two at the par four first hole for five points and he went on to score solidly with a three pointer at the par four fourth followed by a consistent run of two pointers from the fifth to the ninth to turn in 20 points.

Ciaran went on a scoring spree on the back nine, with four three pointers in a row from the 10th to the 13th holes before beefing up his score further with a birdie three at the 14th hole for four points and parring the 17th and 18th holes for three pointers to come home in 25 points.

The divisional winners were Paul Malone (12) 43pts, Ciaran Flanagan (18) 42pts and Paul Culligan (28) 43pts.

A run of consistent solid scoring on both nines was enough to secure overall victory for Frank O’Hagan (20) with 43 points in the midweek Open Singles Stableford Competition sponsored by McKenna Man.

Starting with a brace of two pointers on the opening two holes, Frank added back-to -back three pointers at the par four third and fourth holes and topped off a run of four two pointers with a par three at the ninth for three points to reach the turn in 21 points. His back nine included three pointers at the 11th, 13th and 14th holes and, after a slight dip, he finished strongly with pars at the par three 17th and par four 18th holes to come home in 22 points.

The divisional winners, all on 41 points, were Rory Henry (8), Paul Hanratty (22) and visitor Derek Byrne (38) from Balbriggan.

The competition turned out to be a particularly memorable day for Andrew Coburn (7) who had a hole in one at the par three fifth hole.

Saturday, 10 August, and Sunday, 11 August - House Committee Cup Singles Stableford – Overall: Ciaran McAteer (20) 45 pts. Division 1: Paul Malone (12) 43 pts, Brian Fennelly (9) 42 pts. Division 2: Ciaran Flanagan (18) 42pts, Alex Naylor (18) 42pts. Division 3: Paul Culligan (28) 43pts, Niall McErlean (21) 42pts. Overall Gross: Peter Rogers (3) 40pts.

Wednesday 14 August - McKenna Man Open Singles Stableford – Overall: Frank O’Hagan (20) 43pts. Division 1: Rory Henry (8) 41pts. Division 2: Paul Hanratty (22) 41pts. Division 3: Derek Byrne (Balbriggan) (38) 41pts. Gross Recognition: Ben Cahill (1) 39pts.