Senior Cup v Balcarrick

Sutton faced a formidable challenge in the Senior Cup drawing Balcarrick away in the 2nd round. This was always going to be a tough ask against a Balcarrick side that had beaten a strong Skerries team in Round 1 and we ended up on the wrong side of a 3.5-1.5 defeat.

To play “Senior” for your club in any code is special and the players selected were a credit to both themselves and Sutton in how they represented our club. Manager, John Aherne, found himself without a number of key players who were unavailable for selection and had to dig deep into the panel, including bringing Sutton legend Kieran O’Byrne out of self- imposed “retirement”. Kieran has never let Sutton down in an incredible 50+ years of Interclub representation and boy did he deliver once more – beating his opponent 7&6 at home. Permission for full retirement may have to wait for another while!

Also playing at home was Shane McGlynn, fresh from shooting an incredible 66 at the Irish Amateur in Seapoint and as ever showing consistently good form. Shane was up against Balcarrick’s low man and as expected this was a classic match and a real treat for the spectators. Nip and tuck all the way Shane managed a 2up lead on the front 9 before his opponent rattled off 3 birdies on the trot around the turn and the match was back to All Square. Shane birdied 14 to nudge ahead again, a lead he maintained until being called in 1up on 17.

Unfortunately the away trio of Chris Loh, Philip Higgins and Paddy Lennon came up against a Balcarrick whirlwind of birdies and pars from the home men who were all exceptional ball strikers and naturally very comfortable on what is a tricky and quirky course. Our men put up a brave fight and were competitive to the end with both Philip and Chris’s matches finishing on the 14th hole.

Paddy Lennon’s match looked like it was going the same way with the Balcarrick man 4up after 9 but Paddy is made of stern stuff and kept fighting, ably assisted by Niall MacDiamond on the bag. 3 down with 4 to play and Paddy really kicked into gear, chipping in on the par 15th for a win and backing it up with a rifled 5 iron to 12 feet on the long par 3, 16th . The match was now delicately balanced at 1up playing 17th and credit to Paddy’s opponent, he played the hole impressively well to close out the match.

All in all a tough defeat to take but one from which the players will have gained huge experience. This is the highest level of Interclub golf in Ireland and having a competitive team of the requisite standard is crucial for the ongoing development of our club. Sutton must continue give our top players the opportunity to test themselves against the very best and this is another step on that journey. We are still in the building phase with the Men’s Premier Panel and days like this will stand to us on our journey.

Thanks to all of the caddies and supporters who showed up to help on the day!