Pierce Purcell V Clontarf

Sunday’s Pierce Purcell foursomes matches against Clontarf delivered all the tension and drama we’ve come to expect against Clontarf, with 3 of the 4 matches going down to the 18th green and decided by the narrowest of margins.

 Clontarf 

Match 1 Gordon Linehan and Fred Gilbert played very consistently and generally were in control of the match with some great clutch putting from Fred. Coming down the 17th it looked like Sutton were going to win the match 2 & 1 but the putt lipped out so it was onto the 18th where Sutton looked in trouble after visiting a few trees and Clontarf in the fairway , however Gordon hit a great 4th shot and the hole was halved in 6 for Sutton to win.

 Match 2 Conor O’Leary and Alex Russell went one down on the par 4 first when the Clontarf player holed his second shot and this unfortunately set the tone for the match. The Clontarf team continued to build a lead and were 4 up at the turn however Conor and Alex began to play some really good golf and were really unlucky with a few putts that might have changed the match but unfortunately the match was lost on the 15th.  

It now all depended on the matches in Sutton.

Sutton 

Match 1  Mark Newman (a late sub for David Carvell) and James Gilbert went three down at the turn, but they showed real fight and determination to battle back. They drew level on the 17th after the opposition’s ball finished on the out-of-bounds wall and, after much deliberation, was deemed just out of bounds. With the match now all square going down 18, we were initially very fortunate with our second finding the path to the right of the green and not out of bounds.  A drop and great chip by James left Mark with a tricky 8-foot putt to snatch the win—but it narrowly missed, resulting in a well-earned half.  It all now depended on Mark McDonald and Dan Stapleton in Match 2.  

Match 2 unfortunately unfolded in the opposite fashion. Mark & Dan, having been two up found themselves one up on 17.  Unfortunately, now it was our turn to find the beach and out of bounds, handing the advantage to the opposition.  The two Clontarf lads were seasoned players, battling for every shot and putt.  It now all depended on 18 and after we found the front of the green in two with a long difficult putt.  Getting down in two putts would be a great outcome.  The Clontarf team were very lucky to remain in bounds with their second and had a tricky up and down from the mound to the side of 18.  Unfortunately, Clontarf managed to get up and down and our par putt again narrowly missed with the lads losing 1 down.  

Really tough to lose by the smallest of margins despite great golf from all the players. A special mention goes to young Dan and Alex , who made their debut in competitive team golf. Both  handled the occasion superbly and did the club proud. A great performance and a bright future ahead.

Thanks to all who played and supported. While the results didn’t quite go our way, the spirit and fight on display were first class.