Riverdale E Win National Scramble

They came like a series of waves last Saturday morning as the first
section of the 72 finalist teams converged on Ryston & St. Bridget’s,
These were not the players one would normally associate with a National
Final, rather they are the members who make up the backbone of a normal
Club and for them this was to be their Day in the Sun. Such is the beauty
of the National Scramble Competition in that it caters for the player of
higher handicap. Not for such players the weekly (or twice weekly) Scratch
Cup, no they may turn out for the four ball competition on a Sunday
morning if no pressing domestic or club activity waylays them.

At any rate the klaxon sounded at 9.30 and the eighteen teams started out
in both venues. For the first 40 minutes Mother Nature proved most unkind
with driving rain making playing conditions difficult. However the rain
stopped and eventually a patch of sun appeared and remained with us for
the next two days. The initial leaders were Woodlands D of Kildare but
when the next eighteen teams started out there was all to play for,
Deerpark A from Killarney produced an excellent 30 to go into the lead but
then the 36 hole scores started to come in and the lead swung again to
Woodlands D. With the courses bathed in sunshine playing conditions were
ideal for the second grouping and the scores after 36 reflected as much,
with Kilbeggan A proving to be the top team of the day with 62 1/3, The
next four scores were as follows Deerpark A 64, Woodlands D 64 2/3,
Majestic C 65 and Kilmichael B 65 1/3

Sunday dawned with the sun shining again and the scoring did not
disappoint, Woodlands B produced a staggering 27 2/3 in Ryston and
Riverdale from Tipperary entered into the fray to be joined by Kilbeggan,
Deerpark and Bruff. As a spectator I could only marvel at the overall
quality of the play especially as the majority of the players were in the
higher handicap bracket. The climax of the competition was less than an
hour away.

Just before 3 pm the final round commenced and once again the standard of
play was superb. The lead changed places on a number of occasions but
Riverdale’s experience showed in the end and they emerged victorious with
158 2/3 over the all Coffey team from Kilbeggan with 160 1/3 with Deerpark
A garnering third place with 161 by just 1/3 of a shot from Woodlands B.

As ever Ryston and St. Bridget’s proved to be excellent hosts and looked
after all visitors with their customary skill. Both courses were in
impeccable order and their condition surely was a contributing factor in
the outstanding scoring. But most important of all were the players
themselves who enjoyed their Day in the Sun so much. I for one wish we had
more competitions at Club level to cater for the vast majority who play
our game. If they perform as those I watched at the weekend it would give
a tremendous boost to Pitch & Putt

(Many thanks to the National PRO Padraig O'Shea for allowing us to use this report)