Blessington Lakes secure their first GUI championship by capturing the Provincial Towns Cup beating Trim in the Final 10-8.
Trailing 6-3 after the first leg the golfers from Blessington Lakes knew they had in all to do as they teed off in the final of the Provincial Towns Cup against Co. Meath Golf Club last Sunday. Having tasted defeat in the finals of 2002 and 2009 Blessington Lakes were determined to make this third time lucky. They knew that the magnificent condition of the course and the lightning fast greens would stand to them but that a little bit of luck would be required too.
A good start was vital to their hopes but after all matches had gone through eight holes Co. Meath led in five of the nine matches. The Boystown based golfers needed some inspiration and it came in the form of Paddy Carthy. Having been two down after four Paddy got a stern talking to from his caddy. It had the desired effect and out of sheer fear Paddy won seven of the next ten holes to record a five and four victory and put the first point on the board for Blessington Lakes.
Meanwhile Sean Farrell was, as usual, quietly going about his business and was all square with six to play. Playing high quality golf he won three out of the next four holes to close out his match and close the gap to 6-5. The next point was always going to be vital and Philip Wardick stepped up to the mark in his usual unassuming manner. Philip played on the club’s first ever team in 2000 and this cup has been his holy grail ever since. Having come up twenty metres short of the pin on the twelfth hole and outrageous chip in ensured Philip handed out a dog licence and the roar could be heard all the way back to Co. Meath.
An early injury hampered Jerry Bergin’s progress and defeat on the sixteenth meant the momentum swung back in favour of Co. Meath. It was a time for cool heads and there were none cooler than steady Eddie Kelly. Calling on all his experience he closed out his match on the seventeenth the level the overall score once again. Directly behind Eddie was Vincent Chapman. Vincent was drafted into the team after the first leg and was playing a formidable opponent who had never lost a Provincial Towns match. Vincent also had a one hundred per cent record never having won one. This did not faze him and putting immaculately won his match on seventeen to put the home side in front for the first time.
Graham Curran having been three down fought back to level his match going up the eighteenth. An adrenalin rush saw him overshoot the final green and despite a brave effort at an up and down he succumbed by one hole as the match went to eight all.
The stage was set for a grandstand finish. John Searson was ice cool as usual. He had his nose in front from an early stage and never gave his opponent a glimmer of hope winning on the seventeenth. This meant that Darren ‘ Lucky ‘ Tobin as left in the last match on the course needing to win to secure the cup for BlessingtonLakes. Unfortunately Darren decided to liven things up by slicing his tee shot into trouble on the par five seventeenth. He played a miraculous recovery to get his ball back into play. His three wood came up just short of the greenside bunker and a good chip followed by an eight foot putt meant that Darren took a one hole lead up eighteen. The eighteenth hole in Blessington Lakes measures over 600 yards. Two magnificent hits left Darren with eighty yars to go. However when his opponent played his approach to fifteen feet the pressure was on. Darren responded by playing his approach to ten feet. When his opponent’s birdie attempt slid by Darren had two putts for the cup. He duly rolled his putt up to the hole and the celebrations began.
We would like to wish Darren a speedy recovery from yet another accident which he suffered the day after the final and also send our best wishes to our past captain Sean Earls.
Great credit is due to all the panel for this victory including Bernard Higgins and Paddy Gallagher who played in previous rounds. Tom Bealin the team manager had a very difficult job during the year but he exceeded all expectations in leading the team to victory. The club would like to thank Donie and Betty McEvoy for all their support through the years and this victory could not have been achieved without them.
Fintan Buckley the chairman of the Leinster Branch of the G.U.I. and the sponsor Peter O’Brien of Peter O’Brien and Sons Landscaping Ltd were on hand for the presentation. They were both fulsome in their praise of the course and the work of the greenkeeper Tom Kavanagh. The cup and pennant were presented to Tom Bealin and the club captain Diarmuid McCarthy and the long wait was over.
