Neal MacKell wins Senior Scratch Matchplay title at Dundalk Golf Club

Dundalk Golf Club Men's

When the going gets tough, the tough get going, goes the saying, and Caolan Rafferty showed its true meaning on Saturday when, in the wind and rain, he won the Dundalk Golf Club Championship by a massive 10 shots.

Conditions were so bad that the Championship was reduced from 36 to 18 holes, and the former Walker Cup player showed all his class with a superb performance as he went round in two under par.

After opening with a par at the first, he bogeyed the second but parred his way to the turn before birdieing the par five 10th.

He handed that back at the next but got back under par with a birdie at the par three 13th and added another birdie at the long par four 16th before parring the final two holes to sign for a 70.

The rest of the field struggled in the difficult conditions, and it was teenager Odhran MacShane who came through the pack to take second thanks to a big improvement on the back nine.

MacShane dropped five shots over the first three holes but got one back at eighth, although he handed that back at the next hole. He steadied things with six straight pars before dropping three shots over the final three holes to sign for an eight-over par 80.

It's been a good few weeks for Rafferty as he was part of the International team that won the Bridges Cup for the first time when they defeated the USA 20-12 at Trump Turnberry in Scotland earlier this month.

Partnered with Warrenpoint’s Colm Campbell for the fourball and foursomes sessions, the Irish pair proved to be a solid pairing in both their foursomes outings with a 1-up win over Dennis Bull and Andrew Price on Day 1 and a 2&1 win over Drew Stoltz and Dennis Bull on Day 2.

In the fourballs they lost on 18 on Day 1 to a birdie against Cody Massa and DJ Lantz, while on Day 2 they were beaten on 18 by Massa and Lantz.

Day 3 was singles, with Rafferty losing 2up to Stoltz. He was one up after 12 but lost 13, 16 and 18 to finish the week with two points out of five, with all three defeats coming on the final green.

Stephen Fitzpatrick (17) became the latest winner in the National Times and Flooring Autumn Series when he shot 41pts over the weekend of October 17 and 18 to win by two points from Gearoid Ó Conluain (13).

After a one-point bogey at the first, Fitzpatrick bounced back at the next with a four-point birdie and picked up three points with a par at the fourth. Two more three-pointers followed at the sixth and eighth as he turned in 21pts.

Three-pointers at the 11th, 13th and 15th and two-pointers at the 10th, 12th, 14th and 16th left him on 38pts with two holes to go, but he blanked the par-3 17th after taking a six.

That left him under pressure to get something from the last, but he held his nerve and parred the hole for another three points as he came home in 20pts for an overall score of 41pts.

Ó Conluain came closest to denying Fitzpatrick as he put together an excellent round of 39pts.

After a double bogey at the first, he responded with back-to-back three-point pars before another double-bogey at the fourth was followed by three consecutive pars, including a three-pointer at the par-five seventh. Two-point bogeys at eight and nine saw him turn in 19pts.

After a three-point par at the 10th, he reeled off two-point returns at the next four holes before another three-point par at the 15th. That brought him to 33pts, and three two-point bogeys over the final three holes saw him cover the back nine in 20pts for an overall return of 39pts.

Brendan Keane (11), who went so close to overall victory the previous week, maintained his excellent form by shooting 38pts to win Division 1 on a last six countback from Philip Lawler (12), while Tony Ryan (18) shot 38pts to beat Anthony O’Donoghue (14) by two shots in Division 2.

William Burke (24) won Division 3 after a round of 36 pts, which was one better than Noel Prendergast (19), while Odhran MacShane had three birdies as he recorded the best gross with 33pts.

Congratulations to Neal MacKelly, Malcolm Drake and Brian Whatley who have won the 2026 IJM Senior, Intermediate and Minor Scratch Matchplay Cups after three thrilling finals.

MacKell won the Senior competition with a 5&4 win over Brian Og Renaghan. He won the first but lost the second, and although he got back in front by winning the fourth, Renaghan levelled the match by winning the seventh with a bogey six. However, MacKell won the ninth in par to turn home one up and pulled away by winning 10 with a birdie, 11 with a par and 12 with a birdie. That left him firmly in control of the match at four up with six to play and, after the 13th was halved in bogeys, MacKell closed out the match on 14 with a par.

The Intermediate final between Drake and Gareth Halpin was a real ding-dong battle and wasn’t decided until the final hole as Drake produced a storming finish to take victory.

A par and a birdie on the opening two holes left Draft two up after two holes, but Halpin hit back, winning four of the next six holes to go two up after eight.

He retained that advantage over the next four holes before Drake finally got a hole back when he won the par three 13th.

Halpin maintained his one-hole lead until 16th when Drake finally managed to draw level, and he won the 17th to take a one-hole lead down the last. Drake found the green in regulation to pile the pressure on Halpin, who failed to make par and lost by two holes.

The Minor final also went the distance as Brian Whately edged out Conor McDonnell after another close battle.

Whately got off to a great start and opened up a two-hole lead after three holes but McDonnell won the fourth with a bogey to reduce the deficit to one and levelled the match with a win on eight. He then won the next hole to take the lead heading down the back nine.

A lost ball on 11th forced McDonnell to concede the hole as the match returned to all square, and Whatley quickly took advantage as he parred the 13th and 14th to open up a two-hole lead with four to play.

But McDonnell refused to lie down and won 15 and 16 to level the match with two holes to play. It was still level as they stood on the 18th tee, and it was Whatley who emerged triumphant as he parred the hole to take the match and the Minor Cup.

The Junior competition was won by Emmet McCabe Savage, who received a walkover as his opponent Austin Shaw was unavailable.

The Big Reveal took place in the Clubhouse on Sunday evening as incoming Captains Martin McDonnell and Catherine Duff announced next year’s Presidents, Vice Captains and Junior Captains.

The 2027 President will be Sean Hession and the Lady President is Kate Smyth. Martin Cairns is the incoming Vice Captain and Theresa Smyth is the Lady Vice Captain. The Junior Captains will be Fergal O’Toole and Holly Kehoe.

Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18 - National Tiles and Flooring Autumn Series – Overall: Stephen Fitzpatrick (17) 41pts, Gearoid Ó Conluain (13) 39pts. Division 1: Brendan Keane (11) 38pts (Last Six), Philip Lawler (12) 38pts.

Division 2: Tony Ryan (18) 38pts, Anthony O'Donoghue (14) 36pts (Last Nine). Division 3: William Burke (24) 36pts, Noel Prendergast (19) 35pts (Last Nine). Gross Recognition: Odhran McShane 33pts.

Saturday, October 24 - Club Championship – Overall: Caolan Rafferty 70, Odhran McShane 80.

IJM Match Play Finals – Senior: Neal MacKell bt Brian Óg Reneghan 5&4. Junior: Emmet McCabe Savage w/o Austin Shaw scr. Intermediate: Malcolm Drake bt Gareth Halpin 2up.Minor – Brian Whatley bt Conor J McDonald 1up.