Lakeside Take Title in Thriller
The final of the Tipperary Pitch & Putt Spring League took place in ideal conditions on Sunday last at Larkspur Park. The early morning dew still visible on the greens, the summer hour now on the clocks the two teams from Lakeside and Riverdale were pitted against one another for the 2nd successive season in the final.
Lakeside’s Anthony Maher & Martha O’Brien were up against Jim Molloy & John Minogue of Riverdale in the first match of the morning in the Junior Section. This match ebbed and flowed but the experience of Molloy was very much a telling factor in this tie. The Riverdale pair were in the driving seat when they reached the 17 hole, they halved the hole to record Riverdale’s first point. Next up was the Lakeside duo of Brian Cahill & Alan Maher v PJ Ryan & Damien Long of Riverdale. These 4 players have had impressive seasons thus far and a titanic battle was envisaged here. However, this didn’t materialise with the Lakeside pair in unstoppable form and this match ended on the 13th. Ronan Loughnane & Patrick Kennedy of Lakeside were up against the Riverdale young guns of Simon Ryan and Stephen Shoer. This was a match of the highest quality, Riverdale took the lead early on and never relinquished it and duly closed out the match on the 16th. Finally Paul O’Brien & David Morrissey of Lakeside v Sean Minogue & John O’Meara of Riverdale was the last match of the Foursomes. Morrissey beginning in fantastic style by getting a hole in one on the 1st, the Lakeside pair continued to control this match for long spells. Minogue sank a great putt on 14 to level but Lakeside moved ahead when O’Brien chipped in on 15. Standing 1up on 18, O’Brien uncharacteristically hit the dreaded water and O’Meara found the green to give the Riverdale pair a much needed halve, a result I think both teams would agree was the right one. So after the Foursome Matches, Nenagh led Lakeside by 2.5 – 1.5 .
The singles matches began with Martha O’Brien v Jim Molloy. The latter now a seasoned veteran and O’Brien still learning her trade, this proved to be one of the matches of the final. Molloy showed his experience at a vital time to move ahead in the game, O’Brien defiance illustrated on the 15th when she held a great putt to keep the match alive. Molloy though, pitched his ball to within inches of the 16th to record Riverdale’s first win the singles. Now 3.5 – 1.5, Riverdale in control. Anthony Maher was looking for revenge against John Minogue in the next singles match after Minogue took the spoils in last years final. Another fine display from these players saw this match seesaw during the round. All Square hitting the dreaded 18th, both players found the water, both then chipped onto the green, but it was Maher who held his nerve to sink a fantastic 10 feet putt to register a much needed point for Lakeside, much to the delight of the Lakeside Crowd. Brian Cahill v PJ Ryan was the next match to turn the attention on. Brian was in control of this match for much of its entirety and closed it out on the 16th to bring Lakeside level with Riverdale. Now at 3.5 – 3.5, Lakeside players began to see the finish line. Patrick Kennedy v Simon Ryan was a match that had everything, both players making birdie after birdie and not giving an inch. Kennedy has experience of this type of atmosphere though and this proved very beneficial as they entered the final 6 holes. Kennedy, eventually winning on the 16th hole, Lakeside now found themselves in front for the first time in the final. Alan Maher v Damien Long was to prove to be a massive game for both clubs. Alan, though playing well found himself in big trouble early on, Damien was in unstoppable form but Maher didn’t wilt and continued to plug away. 1 down playing 15, Alan managed to get the match level with 3 holes to go. Alan pitched to within inches of 17 to go 1 up playing the penultimate hole. Both players to their credit found the green, no mean task I might add. Unfortunately for Damien, he missed the putt, Alan had two putts to win the match and he made no mistake, now Lakeside were in front 5.5 – 3.5 with only 3 games left to play. Ronan Loughnane and Stephen Shoer were involved in a tremendous match. Loughnane got in front early, only for Shoer to respond in dramatic fashion to level the match. Shoer found himself 1 up playing the final hole, again both players found the green but Shoer made no mistake and registered a much needed point for Riverdale. Score now 5.5 – 4.5. David Morrissey ran into a machine in John O’Meara. John simply produced a flawless display of Pitch & Putt, Davy to his credit battled back to his opponent was unrelenting, the match finished on the 15th. Score now 5.5 – 5.5 with only on game left on the course. Paul O’Brien v Sean Minogue, a game that has seen many an epic of the years, this year was not going to disappoint either. O’Brien got off to a dream start when the made birdies on the first 4 holes, he found himself 4 up through 9. Minogue won 10 to reduce the deficit, both birdied 12, Minogue birdied 13 to reduce the lead to 2. Minogue then hit two brilliant pitches to 14 and 15 but was unable to convert the putts and when he missed the green on 16 he opened the door for O’Brien. Paul managed to find the green leaving himself an 8 foot putt straight up hill. Minogue chipped stone dead leaving Paul with the chance to clinch the title for Lakeside. Paul made no mistake and duly sank the putt much to the delight of the Lakeside contingent.
It was truly an epic final, I didn’t think it could better last year’s encounter but the display on show last Sunday proves that the standard of play our players is envied in most counties. The intense rivalry these two great clubs have for one another is extremely healthy, the sportsmanship each player showed had to be admired and really showed what the game of Pitch & Putt is all about. I would like to congratulate Lakeside on their great win but commiserations to a gallant Riverdale team who were so close to re-capturing the title. Roll on next year once again.
The County Board would like to thank all the players who supported the Spring League this year, to Larkspur Park for the use of their course last Sunday for the final, it was in pristine condition as always but also the Clubs of Tipperary who hosted the league stages throughout the league. Your support was so greatly appreciated.
