AIG Barton Shield

Wins for Monkstown & Cork but no joy for Fermoy; AIG Cups & Shields round-up

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Cork Golf Club was a hive of activity over the weekend.  With three pennants up for grabs, Monkstown, Cork and Fermoy went in search of glory.  With the course in Little Island in great shape, there was some great golf on display.  The Island was playing hard and fast, and the recent dry weather led a links like feel to the course.  There were wins for Cork and Monkstown but it was a step too far for Fermoy as they lost out in their semi-final with Tralee.

Munster Golf AIG Barton Shield 2016

Monkstown receive the Pennant for winning the Munster Golf AIG Senior Cup at Cork Golf Club.  Picture: Thos Caffrey / http://www.golffile.ie 

Monkstown won Munster AIG Senior Cup title for the first time on over half a century, beating Castletroy in an exciting Munster final.  12 months ago Sean Desmond won a dramatic match on the 20th green in Dungarvan to take Monkstown to a Senior Cup Munster Final.  Limerick beat them that day in the final, but Sean Desmond was again the hero, this time claiming the winning point on the 18th.  Desmond needed a point after Martin Poucher and Eoghan Long won their matches.  Andrew McCormack and Mark Campbell won for Castletroy so that left it all resting on Desmond’s match.  The 18 year old needed a half on the 18th to win the match and it looked doubtful when his second found the trees on the 18th.  Desmond played a great recovery shot that saw his ball pitch short of the green and run on to 15 feet.  Desmond calmly rolled the ball to less than a foot and that was enough to win the match and the crucial winning point for Monkstown.

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Muskerry Aiming for Back to Back Barton Shield Titles

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Action from the AIG Barton Shield Munster Final at Dungarvan Golf Club. Saturday 15th August 2015. Picture: Niall O'Shea

Muskerry after winning the AIG Barton Shield Munster Final at Dungarvan Golf Club. Picture: Niall O’Shea

Muskerry make the almost familiar trip back to Carton House next week with high hopes of creating history with their AIG Barton Shield Team.  Having beaten four teams in South Munster, they racked up another two wins at the Munster finals stage to book their place in the national finals.  Now they are just two matches away from back to back wins in one of golf’s most prestigious national competitions.  They head off to Carton House with a settled team featuring just one change from last year.  The experienced John Waldron has stepped down and that has given an opportunity to someone else to step up and join the winning team.  That opportunity fell to Shane Whooley and the rookie has excelled all year long.  Whooley started the year playing off 2, but had several impressive performances in the early Continue reading →

Muskerry can rise to finals challenge

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The mantle of champions can sometimes place a heavy weight on a side but not so for the Muskerry team.  They’ve taken every opportunity on their path to Carton House and while they had some impressive wins they also had a few close calls.  As hosts in the South Munster qualifier, they had impressive wins over Blarney, Cork and Bandon but they very nearly came unstuck in their second round match against Monkstown.  Monkstown had a put to win the match on the 19th hole and Muskerry were lucky to survive.  They went on to win on the 20th hole and from there they went on to have two impressive wins over Cork and Bandon.

Gallery: Barton Shield Munster Final

AIG Barton Shield & AIG Senior Cup Munster FinalsThe same was true in Dungarvan at the Munster finals.  Muskerry had a seven hole win over Youghal in the semi-final but it took a dramatic 18th green finish to beat Shannon.  With a total of three holes left to play Muskerry were one down and the odds were stacked in favour of Shannon.  As it happened Muskerry were to produce another clutch performance as they went on to win all three remaining holes.  Niall Gorey and David O’Donovan dove-tailed well on the 18th.  O’Donovan had a great drive and Gorey made the par five green with an excellent long range iron over the water.  O’Donovan narrowly missed the 9 foot putt but Continue reading →

Muskerry Retain AIG Barton Shield Munster Title

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Action from the AIG Barton Shield Munster Final at Dungarvan Golf Club. Saturday 15th August 2015. Picture: Niall O'Shea

Action from the AIG Barton Shield Munster Final at Dungarvan Golf Club. Saturday 15th August 2015.
Picture: Niall O’Shea

Muskerry’s Barton Shield team completed phase two of their plan to match last year’s heroics, after winning the competitive South Munster qualifiers, they went on and secured a second successive Munster title last Saturday in Dungarvan.  Now they face a trip back to Carton House next month for the finals of the AIG Cups and Shields, and they have a great chance of retaining the national title.  The experienced side have one change from last year, Shane Whooley has filled the spot held by John Waldron and has slotted into the seamlessly going on his recent performances.  On Saturday morning they faced Youghal in an all Cork clash.  Youghal had come through the East Munster qualifier, and despite Conor Coyne leading the team they couldn’t keep pace with Muskerry and lost by five holes.  Shannon came through on the other side of the draw with an impressive eight hole win over Tralee.  The final was set to be a battle and it was the first of three Munster finals to be decided on Dungarvan’s 18th green.  The match started as a very evenly

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