CHAMPIONSHIP REPORT
Roganstown Golf Club, County Dublin, Ireland, June 2023
On the Banks of the Meadow river, this year’s Championship commenced with a totally different feel. With a break from our usual format all players participated in the EDGA Irish Open Supported by Golf Ireland in the early part of the week. However, on Sunday we did have our traditional social match with the club, which was curtailed by a thunderstorm and a tie was called as the result.
Later that evening, Society family and friends were joined by Club Captain’s Ian Bailey & Marie Gleeson, where outgoing President Rob Paul placed the chain of office on the shoulders of incoming President Steven Hutchinson.
Captain Ian had a warm welcome and said it was an honour for Roganstown to host our championship. Steven welcomed all and said it was a great honour to be President and thanked Rob for picking him as his vice President. He wished all golfers the best of luck for the coming week.
Monday commenced with the Bob Hughes which was a change from its traditional mid-week slot and was officially a practice round for the Irish Open. Thanks to Golf Ireland who managed the starter’s rostrum for the first three days which added a professional setup to the week. We had 22 participate in the Bob and with 39pts Jim Darragh emerged victorious.
With the new format Tuesday and Wednesday were now the qualifying rounds for the Gross and Nett match-play and Society golfers were paired along with other disabilities in the same index category. This was a new collaboration for SOAG and the general response was a positive one. Following the EDGA/Irish Open we now had our qualifiers for the match-plays. Leading gross was Chris Wood with Martin O’Mahony leading the nett division. The Irish Open proved a successful one for Martin and Jarlath King who filled the second and third positions in the Stableford divisions.
After the exertions of the early week, it was time to relax with a BBQ and music in O’Callaghans bar on Wednesday evening. This was attended by members from EDGA, Golf Ireland, and some of the other participants in the Irish Open. The match-play draw took place with both gross and nett having four matches in each division.
Thursday morning had two early surprises with Frank Morrison upsetting number one seed Chris Wood with a 3&2 win, while Keith Dewhurst had a one up win against Brendan Swan. In the lower half wins for Rob and Cian set up the afternoon semi’s which gave resounding wins for both Keith and Cian.
In the nett division the quarter finals went to form leaving Jarlath v Stuart and Jim v Martin. Fatigue finally catching up with Jarlath and losing out to Stuart while Martin got the better of Jim on the back nine.
Friday morning kicked off with the nett final between Stuart and Martin. The remaining Members and guests played in the President’s Prize with Frank Morrison emerging as winner with 37pts.
In the nett final Stuart needed to dig deep against the man in form Martin. Playing steady golf and keeping the ball in play Stuart finally got the better of Martin with a 3&2 and deserved victory. It was Martin’s first taste of our championship and I do not think it will be the last we will hear from Him.
The gross final between local favourite Cian and Keith, who in his 40 plus years being a society member was participating in his first final.
This was always going to be a big ask for Keith. Cian’s local knowledge as well as his superior ball striking put him in the driving seat from early on and left Keith with an uphill challenge on the back nine. However, he stuck to his gameplan but still was unable to cut the deficit. Then on the 13th a momentary lapse from Cian had it back to four down and perhaps the possibility of extending the match. Under darkening skies with damp and breezy conditions having returned Cian blocked his tee shot right on fourteen while Keith found the green in regulation from his second shot. Cian, close to trees but only had a wedge for his second also found the green in regulation. First to putt was Cian, twenty-five feet left to right was not easy but found the bottom of the cup for birdie and with a tumultuous roar the crowd sensed victory. However, Keith still had a chance to extend the match, but his birdie putt failed to find the cup thus giving Cian a five and four victory. Need-less to say, the locals went wild with excitement and why not as they were there to see their man over the line. They were also gracious towards Keith.
The final was played in a very sporting manner with some fine shot making and while Cian was a deserving 2023 Champion, Keith can be very proud of his championship and first final.
Following our customary photo call the presentation dinner commenced in the Award-Winning McLoughlin’s Restaurant. New faces in the crowd this year Martin O’ Mahony, Stig Olsson, and it was good to see Alan Gentry and Rhonda back at the championship again.
President Steven proposed a toast to Roganstown and thanked all the officers and staff of the club for their hospitality. He said that he could feel genuine warmth and friendship among all the club members towards the society and they were to be commended on this! In reply Captain Ian said it was a wonderful week for the club and extended a welcome back any time in the future. He congratulated all the prize winners and commended the match-play finalists on the sporting manner displayed and was happy for his friend Cian on his win. He had some sympathies for Keith coming up against the form golfer at his home club. Ian concluded with a Hole-in-one presentation to Chris Wood who aced the 6th hole in the Social match on the Sunday. Steven then presented a Society History Book to Ian and flowers to Lady Captain Marie. After receiving his winning trophy Cian thanked Roganstown Golf Club its members and staff both on and off the course for allowing the Society the use of their facilities during the week. He thanked the R&A and Golf Ireland for sponsorship and on-site support over the week. He concluded, it was one of his proudest moments to lift the trophy in his home club and dedicated his win to Willow, who’s funeral he attended earlier that morning.
The final presentation of the night was flowers to Mary Fahy from Brendan on behalf of the Irish Region for all the hard work put in over the last twenty-eight years.
The evening concluded with song and dance with club members in the members bar. A good night was had by all in attendance.
This report is a joint composition from Mary and Brendan as they are both retiring from their administrative positions in the Irish Region. The week was a new venture for SOAG/EDGA and the general feeling was a success, one or two small tweaks but overall we were happy with how the collaboration went. We would both like to thank the SOAG Family for their efforts over the years some good some not so but always achieved the result that mattered. We look forward to seeing you all again at the 2024 championship in Scotland.
Mary Fahy & Brendan Swan
