OLD CONNA won the Leinster Golfers Alliance Shield, the team strokeplay competition sponsored, by The Irish Times, for the second year in a row at Dun Laoghaire golf club yesterday.

The Shankill club, featuring three of last year's team, improved on last year's winning score of 205 with an excellent, one-under-par 203 to win by a comfortable four strokes.

In the alliance, which is open to single figure handicappers, only the best three scores from the team of four count. With their poor starts, Pat Hayde and Declan Kerrigan must have felt that they would be the non-contributor to the team's total.

But the experience gained last year stood to them and they mounted excellent recoveries. Hayde was five over after four but birdies on the fifth, eighth 10th and 12th brought him back to one over after 14. Bogeys on the 14th and 17th gave the five handicapper a level par round of 68.

Declan Kerrigan was four over after five, and while the seven handicapper failed to record any birdies, consistency on the greens enabled him to score an impressive nett one-under-par 67.

Ron Mason, the newcomer to the team, like Hayde, shot a level par 68. Mason, who plays off five, birdied the ninth to turn on two over, and though he dropped shots on the 10th and 13th, he saved par on the 14th with a great pitch. Ger O'Gorman, who shot the best score for the team last year, scored 73 yesterday.

Charlesland, from Greystones, who were playing in the competition for the first time, were second on 207, while Balbriggan were a shot further back for third.

Aidan McCarthy, the captain of Dun Laoghaire, with 70 won the prize for best gross, while John Burke, from Castle, won best net with a 66.