Joyce Connolly the victor in Dundalk Golf Club's most prestigious ladies event

The highlight of the ladies golfing calendar, Lady Captain Briege Renaghan’s Prize, was played in great conditions on Tuesday, July 4th and Saturday, July 8th.

There was a packed timesheet on both days, with all of the ladies showing their support for the Lady Captain’s work and commitment to the Ladies Section.

The overall winners were determined by the cumulative scores over both days. The leaderboard after Day One indicated that it was going to be a tight race to the top.

Joyce Connolly and Pat Cleary sat two shots ahead of the field at the end of Day One, having returned superb scores of 65 nett. This was two shots ahead of Lady Vice Captain Mags Coburn and Ide McDermott, with a chasing group of 17 more ladies within five shots.

Day Two also produced some fine scoring, but not quite as low as that of Day One. Joyce Connolly followed up her superb opening round with a very steady 74 nett, which was enough for her to secure the top spot in this year’s Lady Captain’s Prize.

She was a very popular winner, and spoke of her delight on winning, as she collected her beautiful prize from Lady Captain Briege.

Paula McKeown was the overall winner of second prize, Anne Murray took third place, and Pauline Duffy was fourth. The winner of the overall gross prize was Gillian McDonnell, who had played superb golf, shooting rounds of 79 and 82 gross.

Deirdre Smith, fresh from her great run in the Irish Senior Close Championships, where she reached the semi-finals, was the gross winner on Day 2.

Deirdre was the leading qualifier to progress to the match play stages of the Irish Senior Close, an incredible nine shots ahead of the field, shooting a course record of 68 in her second round at Strandhill.

All prize recipients were thrilled with the beautiful prizes that had been presented to them by the Lady Captain. Lady Captain Briege thanked the members, staff, and ladies committee of Dundalk Golf Club for their continued support and generosity.

In interclub news, the Carton Cup Team won three of their five matches against Corrstown, with the return matches to be played on July 21st. The Junior Cup team face Headfort over the weekend, and the Revive Active play Balbriggan next weekend. Best of luck to all players and managers.

Lady Captain Briege’s annual charity team event takes place next week in aid of SOSAD. This is very kindly sponsored by One Finance.

Tuesday, July 4 and Saturday, July 8 - Briege Renaghan’s Lady Captain’s Prize

Overall: Joyce Connolly 139, Paula McKeown 141, Anne Murray 143, Pauline Duffy 145.

Gross: Gillian McDonnell 162.

Day 1 (July 4)

Division 1: Mags Coburn 67, Sally McDonnell 69.

Gross: Criona O’Reilly 87. Division 2: Pat Cleary 65, Ide McDermott 67, Mairead Garland 68.

Division 3: Marcella Ui Chonluain 69, Angela Kilboy 70, Geraldine Gorham 70. 

9 Hole: Ciara McGinnity 23pts, Ursula Fee 22pts.

Front Nine: Noeleen Gernon 32.5.

Back Nine: Jean Connolly 33.

Nearest The Pin: Noeleen Gernon (5th hole), Paula McKeown (17th hole).

Day 2 (July 8)

Division 1: Elaine Ward 73, Pauline Campbell 74.

Gross: Deidre Smith 76.

Division 2: Olive Jones 68, Grainne Mullins 72, Catherine Cafferty 74.

Division 3: Elaine Connolly 72, Ann Redahan 74, Oonagh Quinn 75.

9 Hole: June Desmond 20pts, Rita Kelly 18pts.

Front Nine: Margaret McCourt 35.

Back Nine: Violet McGeady 32.

Nearest the Pin: Linda Fergus (5th hole), Joan Smith (17th hole). 

Non- Qualifiers: Jill Gallagher 71.

Juvenile Winner (both days): Julia O’Callaghan 147.