The scintillating scoring of the previous day's Lonsdale Cup was in evidence once more 24 hours later, when the players at County Armagh Golf Club again cruelly dismantled the challenge of a course rendered vulnerable to low rounds by the simply sublime golfing conditions.
On 3 June, Henry Lyttle contradicted his surname to record a rather large 44-point total that left him two clear at the top of the leaderboard in a stableford event sponsored by King Bros Quarry.
Playing off a 21 handicap, Henry registered seven pars on the way out, which meant that he had banked a mammoth 24 points by half-time. The 20-point back nine that followed was characterised more by understated excellence, as pars at the 15th and 18th put the icing on his Sunday Stableford cake, with an added sweetener coming in the shape of a three-shot handicap reduction.
Henry Lyttle, winner of the recent King Bros Quarry competition at County Armagh Golf Club, is presented with his prize by sponsor, Robert King. Also pictured are Club Captain, Colm Shannon, and other prizewinners (L-R) Colin Clarke, Jarlath McReynolds, Caolan Doyle, Danny Maxwell and Kieran Grimes.
A couple of points adrift of Lyttle and assuming second position overall for the second day in a row was that man Jarlath McReynolds, who matched his Lonsdale sub-par antics with another gross 67 here.
The paucity of error indicated by just three bogeys in 36 holes provided the bedrock of Jarlath's weekend masterclass. His Sunday showing peaked with back-to-back birdies at the 8th and 9th and an eagle on the 12th, and the 42 points amassed left the big schoolteacher on the precipice of a return to the status of a two-handicapper.
A double bogey at the opening hole was an inauspicious start to Colin Clarke's outing, but that merely kick-started his challenge. After a high-standard homeward trek of six pars and three bogeys, Colin would ultimately sign for 39 points, which secured for him the honours in category 1. Runner-up in the 0-12 handicap bracket with 38 points was Caolan Doyle who also saved his best for the back nine, albeit the brilliance of his birdies at the 14th, 16th and 17th was diminished slightly by his concluding no-score.
There was a Beagan family joust at the summit of the category 2 standings, where Brendan's 39-point return was one better than that of Kieran. Given their combined total of 15 pars, the Beagans will be a useful pairing in the next four-ball better-ball competition.
Meanwhile, Kieran Grimes prevailed in category 3 with a pleasing 38-point performance that was boosted by a hat-trick of pars. Matching that fine points haul but losing out on a break of tie was Danny Maxwell, whose topsy-turvy offering featured four pars and a birdie but also a couple of damaging dings.
Four days later on Wednesday 6 June, the respective winners of the Senior Open Stableford and Open Stableford tournaments were separated by 54 years but just six strokes. Former Club President Pearse McBride's gross 74 was an archetypal "form is temporary, class is permanent" display that yielded 42 points and victory among the over-50s contingent, while wonderkid Joe Rooney's two-under-par knock for 40 points was typically majestic.