Dundalk Golf Club lose Women's Junior Cup semi-final

Dundalk were beaten 3-2 on Saturday in the semi-final of the AIG Women’s Junior Cup by County Tipperary at Tandragee Golf Club.

It is the second time in three years that Dundalk have fallen at the penultimate hurdle in their bid to win a first women’s national pennant, and once again they lost to a very experienced team that went on to win the Junior Cup title.

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Having beaten Galway in yesterday’s quarter-final, hopes were high that Dundalk could go one better than 2023 when they were beaten 4-1 by Castletroy in the semi-final after losing two matches on the 18th and two on the 19th.

But, it was apparent from early on this morning that Munster East champions Tipperary, who had beaten County Armagh in their quarter-final on Friday, were going to provide a stern test.

In the second match, Katie Rowland found herself in the unusual position of being four down after four holes to Marian Finn, but she had cut that deficit in half by the turn.

Losing the 11th could have broken her momentum, but she didn’t panic and won four of the next five holes to record a remarkable comeback and win three and one.

In the bottom match, Elaine Ward won the second and third holes against Joanne Horgan to go two up and remained in front for the rest of the match, eventually securing her point on the 14th as she ran out a five and four winner.

In the top match, Criona O’Reilly had a great battle with Mary Riordan and was all square heading down the back nine, but the Tipp player got the breaks on the trip home and eventually won the match three and one.

In the fourth match, Pauline Campbell found herself four down after four holes against the impressive Yvonne Daly and then lost the sixth to go five down.

By the 10th, she was seven down, and she eventually lost six and five to a player who won all her matches in Tandragee.

That left the middle match between Ellen McEneaney and Renagh Murphy as the decider, and it proved to be a tight battle between two well-matched players.

However, the Dundalk player had a cold putter and was unable to prevent Murphy from winning three and two.

There was some consolation for Dundalk in the afternoon when Tipperary beat Portstewart 4-1 in the final, and they also received bronze medals from Golf Ireland President Michael Evans for reaching the semi-finals.