Sam Rutherford Cup belongs to St Patrick’s

Sam Rutherford Cup belongs to St Patrick’s

ST Patrick’s Golf Club are the proud holders of the Sam Rutherford Cup.

Saturday and Sunday witnessed the clash of the titans as St Patrick’s took on neighbours Rockmount in the two-leg final. 

The first leg was played at St Patrick’s in ideal conditions for golf with a light breeze and sunny conditions.

Rockmount had chosen to play away from home as they had enjoyed good results from this tactic in previous rounds. However, St Patrick’s were not going to be complacent in their approach and fully recognised the quality of their opponents. 

St Patrick’s had the right blend of youth and experience and the games were played with great spirit and determination.

The first pairing of James Kernoghan and Pearse Tumelty succumbed to the power and precision of Rockmount’s top pairing and lost out by two holes.

Pocket rockets Gary Murray (Crossgar) and Ed Baggley Jr were second out and  played their usual power game with the addition of  sublime putting finesse to win by two holes.

The third pairing of Paddy Totton and Gary Murray (Strangford) delivered the killer blow to Rockmount and romped home by four holes.

Their tenacity and resilience proved to be the foundation for the rest of the team. The last pairing of the rock steady Adrian Magee and Declan Dowie continued their unbeaten run in the competition, winning by one hole. 

The players from St Patrick’s did their club proud by winning the first leg with five holes up. Although this was a slender lead to take to Rockmount, the confidence of the lads to deliver away from home remained.  

For the return leg at Rockmount conditions were much more difficult with a swirling wind and occasional showers. 

The St Patrick’s opening pair was Totton — the ‘daddy of the team” — and the Strangford Murray. They played some sublime golf with Totton driving like a professional and the silky putting skills of Murray resulting in them winning their match by one hole. This again laid the foundation by beating Rockmount’s top pairing. 

Up next were the Crossgar Murray and Baggley Jr, who played like giants and produced some phenomenal golf against great opponents to win by one hole. 

The third pairing of Tumelty and Kernoghan  proved their worth with the superb driving ability of Kernoghan combined with the steady chipping and unflappable putting of Tumelty resulting in a halved match. 

The final pairing of the mercurial Magee and Dowie proved once again how the youth of the team held no fears and played with complete passion and energy, never allowing any dips in performance to unravel their steely determination to win. They eventually won by two holes, birdieing the last two in an amazing cauldron of pressure.  

The match was played with great sportsmanship by both clubs and Rockmount were most gracious in defeat. 

St Patrick’s club captain Michael Donovan and team Captain Brendan Mullen were delighted to receive the pennant and cup from Dave Allen.