Good scoring at Ballycastle

The stableford competition held on Monday 12th July was sponsored by P.J. McIlroy & Son and was won by Garth Beckett, playing off fifteen, with a total of 42 points, just ahead of Raymond Browne on a better back nine score. Third prize on Monday went to Owen Kennedy for his level par round which yielded 41 points and fourth prize went to Ciaran Mort who also completed the course in level par for 41 points. Angus Iliff finished in fifth place with a score of 40 points and the day’s gross prizes went to Neil McMaster and Harry Sheehan with 35 and 34 gross points respectively.

Tuesday’s stableford competition was won by John Higgins jnr, playing off five, who started with an eagle and finished with a birdie in his one under par total of 42 points.

Liam McLean took second spot with 41 points, James Laverty was third also with 41 points, Vincent Dowds won the fourth prize with a total of 40 points and Patrick Campbell was in fifth place with 38 points. Alistair McGregor from Cushendall Golf Club won the gross prize on Tuesday with 33 gross points, one point ahead of Neil McMaster in second place.

The wet and windy weather on Wednesday made scoring extremely difficult but Christine O’Reilly adapted to the conditions superbly and won the Ladies stableford competition with a total of 35 points, one clear of Kathleen McGowan in second with Mary Corrigan finishing in third place.

The weather was much improved on Thursday for the Gents stroke competition with the soft ground and absence of any wind rendering the golf course totally defenceless.

William Scott McNeice, a sixteen handicapper from Clandeboye Golf Club took full advantage of the conditions and coasted to victory with a staggering score of nett 57!

James Laverty returned a nett 63 to take second place and Neil McMaster continued his great form by completing the course in four under par to secure third place with a nett 63.

Gerard Butler won the fourth prize with a nett 64 and Martin Brogan was fifth, also with a nett 64. Francis McGinn won the gross prize with a two under par 69, one shot clear of William Boyd in second place.

Friday’s Fourball Betterball competition was won by L.McKeegan and D.McNaughton from Cushendall Golf Club with 45 points, one point ahead of the second place pair of Lawrence McQuillan and Vincent Dowds with Damian McSorley and Eoin Donnelly in third place with 43 points.

A very successful and enjoyable Open Week concluded at Ballycastle Golf Club on Saturday with a Ladies and Gents stableford.

In the Ladies competition, the immediate past Captain, Mary T. McKiernan returned a total of 37 points to give her first place, just ahead of the current Captain Susan Crawford who finished second with 35 points.

In the Gents competition, Steven Devlin produced some magical golf and strolled to victory with a magnificent total of 47 points. Eamon Dornan finished in second place on Saturday with 41 points, Francis McGinn was third thanks to his two under par round giving him 40 points and Colm Hendrie was fourth, also with 40 points. Hugh Sayers won the fifth prize with 39 points and the gross prizes went to Michael Dallat jnr and Neil McMaster with 36 and 35 gross points respectively.

The McGildowney Cup was played at Ballycastle on Sunday 18th July and Noel Dobbin, playing off eighteen, is this year’s winner with an excellent nett 63. Patrick Dallat jnr took second place on Sunday thanks to an impressive three under par round giving him a nett score of 65. Mel Carleton was third on Sunday also on nett 65, Liam Laverty finished fourth with a nett 67 and the gross prize went to Mark McCormick for a one under par 70.

Mark and Rory McCormick teamed up successfully during the week to win the Silver Mounted Golf Ball title by defeating Patrick Dixon and Paul Scott in the final and Rory McCormick has also tasted some success on his own this week by beating Rory Gallagher to claim the Valencia Cup match-play title. Ballycastle’s autumn match-play competition, the Casement Cup, is now open for entries via the pro shop.

A reminder to members that the re-arranged Gent’s Shotgun Foursomes takes place on Friday evening at 6pm. The starting sheet can be found on the competition notice board and there are still a few spaces available for anyone interested in taking part in this enjoyable evening.

Saturday’s competition will be the Glenshesk Cup, an open senior’s stableford for anyone over the age of fifty. The club will also be running a competition on Saturday for those yet to reach the half century milestone. The July monthly medal will be held at Ballycastle on Sunday.