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India House

Kular Clothing

Teams of Four

Competition Sponsors: Suki Nagra (India House) and Pommy Kular (Kular Clothing)

The fabulous weekend weather was eclipsed by only one thing - the brilliance of the teams’ scoring in Prehen’s prestigious annual Two Day Open Team Event sponsored this year by India Hose and Kular Clothing. By the end Saturday’s play the talented team of John Currie, George Pearson, Tom McDermott and Andy McFaul found sat comfortably atop the leader board with a magnificent 92 points. The star of the team was undoubtedly John Currie who featured no fewer than thirteen times as the team amassed their total. The saddest story of Day One was to be told by the team of Sean McCaul, Nigel McCaul, Eugene McManus and John Doherty who put together a superb 91 point but then committed the cardinal error, feared golfers worldwide, of forgetting to sign the scorecard. A disqualification lesson learned for future events by these talented ball-strikers! The chasing pack on Saturday was bunched on scores ranging from 87 to 89 points. There was no hint of the remarkable story set to unfold on Sunday as players told tales of golfing highlights in the crowded Prehen bar on Saturday night.

With the temperatures touching 25°C on Sunday teams were in buoyant mood standing on the first tee. It’s not often that Spanish temperatures kiss the Prehen fairways and players made the most of the occasion with a festival atmosphere obvious everywhere! Lying third after Saturday’s endeavours the team of John Chambers, Cheryl Chambers, John Doherty and Mary Doherty felt they were in pole position to build on a banked 89 points and capture the first prize. They set about their task with gusto and over the difficult front nine accumulated a fine score of 47 points.  A further 48 points on the back nine for a day total of 95 and an overall 184 left them quietly confident as they turned in their card.

The team of John McIvor, Mark McIvor, Tony McDermott and Keith Stott also shot 95 points on Sunday but building on an 85 pointer on Saturday they were too far back to challenge for the top prize. However the big hitting quartet did secure the Day Two prize. With 90 points on Day 1, and lying in second place, the team of Robbie Kennelly, Eamon McCourt, Sean Coyle and Emmet Boyle felt they merely had to push on a little  to collect the major prize. In the event they proved remarkably consistent in their play and amassed a further 90 points on Day Two. Although dropped to fifth place overall they nevertheless secured the Day One prize for their fine consistent effort.

With 88 points on Day One, and languishing in joint ninth place, the team of Tony Murray, Martin Doherty, Tony McCann and Malachy Armstrong faced an uphill struggle to get anywhere near the winner’s circle. It must have been the realisation that the action was all in the hands of the big hitters atop the leader board the allowed this team to relax sufficiently to put together a score! By the end of the first nine they had 48 points in the bag due to a string of Houdiniesque escapes! The back nine proved just as consistent but was characterised by one of the finest displays of co-ordinated golfing ever witnessed over the Prehen course. One onlooker was moved to comment that this team knitted together like a busload of pensioners on a summer’s outing to Buncrana! With 97 points on Day two and 185 overall Tony Murray, Martin Doherty, Tony McCann and Malachy Armstrong held the clubhouse lead nervously for a couple of hours.

The hottest scoring of the day was reserved for one of the late-starting teams. With a middle of the road score of 89 for Saturday there was little hint of the fireworks to come from the team of Andy McFeely, Sean McKane, George Jackson and Eric Watson. Knuckling down to their task they stormed the front nine holes to plunder a massive 49 point tally – the best of the weekend on these difficult scoring holes. A massive 53 points on the back nine for a daily total of 102 points saw the team top the leader board with an unbeatable 191 points. The star of the back nine was undoubtedly Sean McKane with three birdies but he was ably supported by the consistent brilliance of  Eric Watson who featured no fewer than twelve times on the scorecard. Andy McFeely and George Jackson played supporting but important roles over the back nine but were around when nerves got the better of the high handicappers in the final stages. In his winning speech George Jackson reported that while Sean McKane was the team’s driving force and Andy McFeely’s  calm surveillance had been key it was really Eric Watson who’d had a belter of a day.

A large turnout enjoyed the prize presentation on Sunday night when Captain Brian Abel thanked competition sponsors Suki Nagra(India House) and Pommy Kular(Kular Clothing) for their sponsorship and  fine array of prizes.