Tubbercurry take lead in collective responsibility

The term "collective responsibility" isn't just confined to government cabinet decisions, as Tubbercurry Golf Club's Connacht Shield winning side discovered at the weekend.

Fate finally smiled kindly on the Sligomen when they belatedly managed to get their hands on a coveted GUI pennant, two weeks after losing a play-off with Portumna in the Cecil Ewing Shield final. But Tubbercurry's heroes had to do it the hard way in the final of the Connacht Shield, sponsored by Calor Gas. They'd entered the second leg trailing Claremorris by 4-1 - "We were very much the underdogs and had nothing to lose," according to team captain Padraig McDonagh, who emerged as one of their stars - but forced matters to go to the wire by turning that result around to leave the scores tied at 5-5. Then things got interesting.

"I may have been the team captain," said McDonagh, "but the actual decision on who would play in the sudden-death came down to the team itself. It was a collective decision."

As things turned out, the team decided that McDonagh and Harold McManus would carry their aspirations of winning a first ever GUI pennant. To add to the drama, McDonagh had been on that beaten Cecil Ewing team - so he knew better than most the angst of defeat. "That experience stood to me," he later admitted. McDonagh and McManus, who had a shot at the hole, went on to beat Claremorris pair Pat Carney and Jim Egan with a five at the par four first tie hole to ensure the coveted Connacht Shield would become the first trophy to find a home in Tubbercurry's clubhouse which was opened last year. The club itself was founded in 1990.

Ironically, Carney and Egan had earlier secured the visitors' only away point when beating Eamon Gallagher and Keith Feehily on the 18th. And, in a further twist, Gallagher and Feehily had been Tubbercurry's only away winners in the first leg. So, perhaps fittingly, all five Tubbercurry pairings actually won a point in their historic win.

Meanwhile, Ballina's woe in the Jack O'Sullivan Trophy final, sponsored by Guinness, continued on Sunday when they were beaten by Gort in this year's decider. It continued an amazing losing sequence in this particular competition for Ballina, who have been beaten in six finals in the last ten years.

With home advantage for the second leg, Ballina were hopeful of overcoming a 3-2 deficit from the first series of matches - and they did manage to level matters (at 5-5) by winning the second leg 3-2. And, so, sudden death was required to determine the destination of the title.

John Moylan and Brendan O'Mahoney, who had won their match, were the chosen pair for Gort; and John Doherty and Brendan Browne, who had also won their scheduled match, were selected as the Ballina duo for duty in the play-off. And Gort, who were disqualified in a final just a couple of years ago, showed no mercy to their hosts by claiming the crown at the second tie hole.

It would be quite understandable if Dundalk Golf Club members were sick of the sight of their counterparts from The Island.

Last week, in no less than three different ILGU Eastern District Autumn Teams competitions, Dundalk succumbed to the might of the Dubliners - in the Junior Cup (which The Island has actually won three times in the past four years), the "Fourth Team" event, and the "Fifth Team" competition.

The finals of the Autumn Teams, sponsored by Clarins, will be held at Malahide Golf Club on November 3rd.

One of the successes of the competitions this season has been the home and away format introduced for the first time following a questionnaire to all clubs. "We had feared the lack of sociability aspect might be a problem, but we've had very good feedback from the clubs since the format was implemented," said Liz Foley, secretary of the Eastern Branch.

Meanwhile, the date and venue for the popular Townsend Cup won't be decided until the two finalists are known. The quarterfinals of the foursomes team competition must be played before Friday. The line-up is: Stackstown v Black Bush; Dun Laoghaire v Bodenstown; Donabate v Howth; and Foxrock v The Island.

Joseph Hanrahan brought the Arnold Palmer-designed K Club to its knees when he won the BMW Golf Cup. Hanrahan, representing Pat Keogh Motors in Limerick, needed to be on top of his game, too! The 15-handicapper's 43 points allowed him to edge out Donal Gahon of Maxwell Motors by a mere point.