Fergus C. Lane Nuremore Golf Saturday, 6th July was president’s day in Nuremore. Because of the terrific weather and the astronomical efforts of Course Supervisor, Brian Barnes, and his men the Nuremore was looking a picture. The President, Fergus Lane, had a nice array of prizes and so the stage was set for some excellent golf. One of the early starters, James Kiernan, played the round of his life and when the last putt went in on the 18th hole, James was level par gross and signed for a 64 nett. He had a busy schedule for the rest of the day but was entitled to feel pretty confident as waited almost 6 hours for the 9 hole play-off. Bernard McInerney also played superbly and returned a fine score of 66 net so he too was sure to be one of the early leaders. Kieran McKeown and Pat O’Leary had 67’s, David Eakin and Eddie Rouiller had 68’s while Peader Hand, Enda O’Carroll and Mark Mullholland completed the qualifiers for the nine hole play-off. There was much speculation in the clubhouse but the consensus was that James Kiernan, who had been successful three times previously in Major Competitions, would bring his excellent golf to bear and walk away with the spoils. Nobody bothered to look back the field at one of the most successful Major winners of all time, both in Nuremore and in Mannan, lurking in the long grass. Only a few holes after the play-off started it soon became apparent that Eddie, with a shot at every hole, was indeed the one to beat now that the handicappers scalpel had been blunted. James completed his nine holes in three over par gross to stand just three over for 27 holes, a mighty achievement for a 7 handicapper. But absolutely nothing was going to stop the march of the Kerry legend as he too completed the nine holes in 3 over par gross. Bearing in mind he was getting 5.5 shots off James for the same 9 holes Eddie was the President’s prize winner with a shot and a half to spare and James was left with the bridesmaid’s dress for 2013. None of the assembled cognoscenti could remember how many majors Eddie had won over the years but all were agreed that the number must be now in double figures. Kieran McKeown put in a valiant effort to catch the front-runners but he was chasing his tail and had to be content with 3rd place overall. Bernard McInerney got the leading qualifier’s prize while young David Eakin captured the gross prize with 75. Peter Ward achieved a lifetime’s ambition by securing the Past President’s prize while Mark Mullholland, Ryan McNally and Enda O’Carroll all won nines. The biggest cheer of the night was reserved for a 15 year old Darragh Kelly who had won the County Monaghan under 18 championship the day before in Rossmore. Darragh had been three shots off the pace going into the last nine holes but clawed back his deficit with a level par nine. He just pipped another Nuremore youth, David Eakin by one shot. This was a tremendous tribute to their long-time tutor, Maurice Cassidy, who has nurtured both through thick and thin for a number of years. Heartiest congratulations to both these young players who put their best foot forward every time they set foot on a course and have only one ambition ie. to go as low as they possibly can.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 10:57:24 +0000
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