Paul’s Senior Cup team clear the first two hurdles

Could this be their year? So far, so good.

Paul McAleavey took his team to Warrenpint last Sunday for the first two rounds of matchplay.

Banbridge were drawn to play Slieve Russell in round one.

It was a close call but then, these games usually are.

Rory Madeley lost at the 20th hole.

Jonathan Ward lost 1 down.

Rory Leonard won 3 and 2.

Connor Doran won 1 up.

Colin Wilton won 3 and 1.

Paul was hugely relieved to see his team progress to round two, courtesy of a 3-2 win.

In round two, Banbridge met their good neighbours, Tandragee, who, incidentally, had knocked out the host club, Warrenpoint, in the morning.

This was another nail-biter of a match.

Rory Madeley lost 7 and 6 against the experienced Paul Topley.

Jonathan Ward won 1 up, against Ross Dutton. How vital was that?

Rory Leonard lost 4 and 3 against Stuart Paul. That caused a bit of excitement.

Two games to go and Tandragee led 2-1. Could you bear to watch?

Connor Doran pulled out all the stops to beat Jamie Stothers 2 up.

Colin Wilton doesn’t know what pressure is. Or, at least, he doesn’t show it.

Colin was just brilliant as he beat William Small 2 up and put Banbridge into the Ulster semi-finals.

The other three teams in the semi-finals are Cairndhu, Dunmurry and Rosapenna.

The semi-finals will be played at Royal Portrush in August. That is something to look forward to.

Luke and John both know how to win

We must congratulate Luke Crory who shot the best individual score of the day in the Ulster Junior Schools Championship at Shandon Park.

Representing Banbridge Academy, Luke shot a superb score of 44 points.

At the other end of the age scale, John Poots won the best senior prize at an open day at Balmoral Golf Club.

That’s the beauty about the game of golf. It doesn’t matter what age you are, you can have some wonderful times.