The ladies of Woodenbridge Golf Club were victorious against Belfast’s Malone Golf Club in the all-Ireland final of the inaugural Mary McKenna Diamond Trophy Tournament which was played at Woodenbridge Golf Course in Wicklow today (3 ½ matches to 1½ matches). And in the play off for third place Roscommon Golf Club beat Cahir Park from Tipperary (3 ½ matches to 1½ matches).
Final : Malone Golf Club vs Woodenbridge Golf Club
Carol Mitchell & Deborah Wilson (Malone GC) WIN 5 & 4 Elizabeth Byrne & Siobhan Saunders (Woodenbridge)
Hester Jackson & Jenny Taggart (Malone GC) 4 & 3 Sandra Watkins & Mary McDonald (Woodenbridge) WIN
Oliver Pelan & Kate Irwin (Malone GC) 2 & 1 Bernie Doyle & Madeleine O’Dwyer (Woodenbridge) WIN
Norma Moffett & Robin Howard (Malone GC) All Square Ger Murphy & Maura Crummy (Woodenbridge) HALF
Rosy Kirk & Wendy Reid (Malone GC) 4 & 3 Brenda Murphy & Dorothy Russell (Woodenbridge GC) WIN
Woodenbridge 3½ Malone 1½
3rd Place Play-off : Cahir Park vs Roscommon Golf Club
Helen O’Donoghue & Marie Keating (Cahir) WIN 1up Mary Lawlor and Margaret Brennan (Roscommon)
Yvonne Morrison & Imelda Buckley (Cahir) All Square Kate Walsh & Joan Moran (Roscommon) HALF
Chris Noonan & Imelda Dilleen (Cahir) 1up Kate Ruane & June Halliday (Roscommon) WIN
Kathleen Noonan & Noreen Hally (Cahir) 3 & 1 Jackie Maxwell & Noreen O’Grady WIN
Phil O’Connor & Mary Lyons (Cahir) 4 & 3 Geraldine Relihan & Mary O’Gara WIN
Roscommon 3 ½ Cahir 1 ½
The Mary McKenna Diamond Trophy tournament, which is in its first year, is an all-Ireland senior club championship for woman over 60 years of age and it is run in a similar way to the successful JB Carr Tournament for men. The tournament named after Mary McKenna MBE, Ireland’s greatest female golfer, was run over six months firstly at county level, then regional level with teams from the four provinces playing in the semi-finals and finals. The competition for 2015 was brought to an exciting close at Woodenbridge Golf Club with two days of golf and a gala dinner where Mary Mc Kenna MBE presented the trophy sponsored by Newbridge Silverware.
ILGU affiliated golf clubs from across Ireland were invited to participate in the Mary McKenna Diamond Trophy Tournament for 2015 and over 50 teams played in the competition between April and September 2015. The format for the tournament is Scotch Foursomes Matchplay with each participating club selecting ten lady members over the age of 60 years (playing off full ILGU handicap + courtesy shot to the away team). Prizes and sponsorship for the event have been generously provided by Investec, Aer Lingus, Newbridge and the Woodenbridge Hotel.
Paula Tannon, Lady Captain of Woodenbridge Golf Club, commented “The members of Woodenbridge Golf Club are very proud to host this prestigious event in the golfing calendar. One of the unique features of this competition is that it brings together golf clubs and ladies from all four corners of the country that might not ordinarily meet in a fun and very sociable golf tournament.”
“We were absolutely delighted with the response from ILGU affiliated golf clubs around the country this year and would like to thank Mary McKenna who has kindly given her name to this prestigious tournament, which we hope, will become the largest inter-club golf competition in the country for women.” added the Lady Captain.