Leinster Fourball V Laytown & Bettystown
On a very blustery day in Sutton and up in Co. Meath, we took on Laytown and Bettystown in the 4th round of the Leinster Men's Fourball on Bank Holiday Monday, August 4th.
Up in L&B, we teed off immediately after the final threeball of their Junior Scratch Cup and, seeing all of them knock down their balls or lose them in the rough, it wasn't ideal for the pre-match nerves!
Callum Buchan and Tim Savage were our first pairing and had a nip and tuck match for the first 9 holes, turning one down but showing fantastic resilience to keep in touch with L&B's strongest pairing. Wins on the 10th and 11th put us 1 up and all was looking good. However, L&B used their course knowledge to win a couple of holes back and headed to the 16th 1 up. They won that hole to go dormie two and despite a valiant effort from the two lads, they shook hands on the 17th - a 2 up win for L&B. Tim and Callum played some fantastic golf but it wasn't to be and that's sport.
Our second away pairing, Johnny Lappin and Malcolm Stafford also found themselves 1 down after 1 but quickly brought things back to all square on the second. From that point they pushed ahead and established a healthy three hole lead at the turn. A minor blip was had on the 13th when an opponent's shot ricocheted off our bags and, what would have been a 20 yard pitch, turned into a 20 foot putt. Which he sank. However, the lads regrouped and they recovered their three hole lead by the 15th.
Back home in Sutton, Rob Lyons and Jonathan Quinn got us underway. Solid sensible golf from them both saw them take a two hole lead on the front nine and despite the wild conditions they were never troubled and eased to a 3&2 win.
All eyes turned to the bottom match at home. Fintan Maher and Greg Creevey battled the elements and also the very careful and deliberate approach from their opponents. 2 hours and 40 minutes for the first nine (jeebus..) saw the lads two down and the spectators exhausted and parched.
From that point though, they went on the march, the game speeded up and their opponents flagged. Fintan and Greg won a spate of holes to move 1 up after 13 and won the next for good measure - 2 up after 14. L&B pulled one back and the teams headed to the 17th with the Sutton pair 1 Up.
Meanwhile, back in L&B, Johnny and Malcolm reached the 16th green knowing a half would win them their match. Credit to L&B, they sank a 20 footer for par which Johnny needed to match with his 5 footer and he delivered with aplomb.
As handshakes were exchanged in L&B, news filtered in that Fintan and Greg had won the 17th and, with that, the match was won 3-1.
We were looked after very well in L&B and I know that the same warm hospitality was extended in Cush Point. Grateful thanks to Raymond Buchan who stood in for Killian to manage home team affairs and to all the club members who came down to give encouragement and support. As said oft times before, it makes a big difference and is hugely appreciated.
Our thanks too to Simon Lewis and Philip Riordan who came out to support our away lads after their Scratch Cup exertions in L&B.
And finally, special congratulations to Malcolm Stafford who made his interclub debut in the away match - another man blooded!
The 5th round (Q/F) of the competition sees us paired with Headfort and we look forward to that with relish. Hopefully we can keep this great SGC season going.
Away team ready for battle
Johnny lines up the winning putt