Kieran Meade wins the Mervyn Guy Memorial Cup

THE Mervyn Guy Memorial Golf Tournament was played at Banbridge Golf on Saturday August 7.

Mervyn was one of the most popular members of the club ever and everyone loved him. His sudden and untimely death a few short years ago was a massive shock.

His friends, especially John Molloy, were determined that his memory should live on.

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Hence this golf competition, which has grown in stature with each passing year.

The calculated standard scratch score was nett 67 or 38 stableford points. This was equalled by Colin McKinney (14), Garth McDonald (16), Bruce McCandless (7), Sydney Pepper (12), Robert Barnes (15), Declan Barry (9), Philip Strong (21) and Neil Madeley (5).

No less than 11 players finished with 39 points. They were Colin Dodds (13), Jonathan Shannon (5), Colin McDonald (13), Brian Mulholland (10), Jonathan Ward (4), Robert Ervine (18), Ronnie Halliday (10), Christopher Boyce (12), Michael Allison (8), John Doran (13) and Gary McCartney (11).

To score 40 points or better from the back tees is no mean achievement. Sixteen players managed it in the Mervyn Guy Memorial.

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John Lennon (25), Cameron Morton (12), Jonathan Burns (5), Keith Steenson (7), Stuart Hunter (5), Dennis Livingstone (19), Joe Glass (14), John Bell (6) and Rory Madeley (5) all reached the magical number of 40 points.

Jonathan Burns, Stuart Hunter, Rory Madeley and Jonathan Ward all shot gross 70’s.

Using countback, Rory Madeley was declared the winner of the best gross prize.

Surprisingly enough, this was Rory’s first win in the best gross category this season. He brings the list of gross winners to twenty.

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Dennis Livingstone won the senior’s prize with his 40 points.

Tom Mulholland (7) was alone on 41 points, good enough for seventh place.

Colin Kennedy (12) and Laurence Bramall (13) both played really well to finish with 42 points. All they got for their efforts was a reduction to their handicaps. For some people that is sufficient reward, for others it is bordering on disastrous. Colin and Laurence belong to the first category.

The long-hitting Barrie McCoy (19) was fourth with 42 points. Barrie has just blasted himself onto the Junior Cowdy cup team for their semi-final against Mannan Castle.

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Young Josh Lockhart (now 9) was third with 43 points. Josh has achieved one of his season’s aims by getting down to a single figure handicap. Congratulations to him!

Alan McGowan (15) slipped quietly into second spot with his 43 points. He is a great striker of the ball and it was inevitable that he would hit the heights sooner rather than later.

But his score just wasn’t good enough to win. A fast finishing Kieran Meade (now 16) beat Alan and Josh on countback. Kieran got off to a very poor start with a ding and a bogey for the first two holes.

Then he reeled off a run of pars, which propelled him up the leader board. But it was the two birdies over the final four holes that clinched it for Kieran.

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It was a brilliant victory for Kieran who has returned to the game recently after a long sabbatical. His handicap reduction forces Kieran to drop off the Junior Cowdy Cup team but, to be honest, he was never going to stay at 18 handicap for very long.

Kieran was honoured to become the third winner of the Mervyn Guy Memorial. The two previous winners were Hugo Downey (2008) and Stuart Hunter (2009).

It is truly fitting that Mervyn should be remembered by the members of Banbridge Golf Club.

Long may it continue!