There was an exciting finish to the Cork colleges inter-varsity league on Sunday as the overall result was decided on a sudden death play-off.  The organisers had hoped for a competitive series and after four events the scores were tied on 20-20.  It was another surprise though when Sunday’s final series of matches in Lee Valley was also tied 5-5.  The draw looked unlikely as UCC had an advantage going onto the final hole but CIT’s Tristan Coakley won his match with superb 10-foot par putt on the 18^th green.  That brought the day’s score to 5-5 and meant that after a total of 50 matches the series was still tied.  A sudden death play-off followed with Coakley continuing for CIT and John Boylan getting the nod for UCC.  The first hole in Lee Valley saw both golfers take irons off the tee, Boylan went over the trees on the left to leave himself with a short approach that he duly hit to within 15 feet of the flag.  Coakley had a longer approach and finished up on the left and a tricky chip from a tough position saw his third shot roll out onto the fringe.  Coakley was very unlucky not to make par with a great long range putt and when Boylan putted to less than a foot the par was conceded and UCC took the honours.

The organisers of the series were UCC’s Cian Kidney and CIT’s Dave O’Sullivan.  Their decision to run the league on handicap format and on aggregate scoring mean that it delivered on their hopes to stage a competitive platform for golfers to improve and sharpen their match focus as the golfing season approaches.  Munster Golf Provincial Coach Fred Twomey and Peter O’Keeffe from O’Keeffe Golf Performance were also involved with the initiative which drove participation in college golf as Cian Kidney explained: “Last year UCC had seven golfers who were active in college competitions and this year we’ve had 18 golfers in this competition alone, with 25 active golfers across all competitions.  There was a massive turnout from both colleges with 34 different golfers playing across the 50 matches.  Hopefully this competition along with the Cyril Deasy Trophy will grow in years to come, and as a result so will the numbers and the competitiveness of college golf in Cork.”  This was the first time that a local league event had been planned between both colleges and it’s staging was thanks to the support of local courses.  “We’re very grateful to the clubs who hosted us throughout the event, Cork, Monkstown, Muskerry, Douglas and Lee Valley” commented Kidney, “We’ve had brief discussions myself and Dave hope to increase the number of round from five or maybe eight or ten next season.  We will be dependent on the golf courses around Cork but it’s definitely something to look at.”

Cork Inter-varsity Series, round five at Lee Valley,
UCC 5-5 CIT (UCC win in sudden death), UCC names first:

Jean O’Driscoll lost to Adam McSweeney 4&3,
John Boylan beat Luke Cummins 3&2,
Cathal O’Reilly lost to Alan Riordan 5&3,
Rory Calnan beat  Rory Dineen 3&2,
Grace McGrath lost to Tristan Coakley 1 up,
Colm Power beat Cathal 1up,
Aoife Ni Thuama lost to Jack Boyd 6&5,
Deirdre Galvin beat Darragh Cashman 6&5,
Olan O’Se lost to Frank Bruen 5&4,
Cian Kidney beat David O’Sullivan 3&2