The Open Stroke competition that kicked off County Armagh Golf Club's Open Week on 4 August was sponsored by Daly Motor Spares, and Declan McReynolds's golfing engine was purring as he cruised to a superb winning score of nett 64.
Declan had served notice to his fellow competitors that he was a man in form with a nett 67 that clinched category 1 victory in the previous weekend's July Medal. This time out, he reached the halfway point through a composed front nine of five pars and four bogeys. Even better would follow immediately thereafter, as birdies at the 11th and 12th were buffered on either side by momentum-maintaining pars at the 10th and 13th.
A slightly ragged 6, 5 climax came after two more pars at the 15th and 16th, but it all amounted to a marvellous six-over-par outing that granted McReynolds Snr a new handicap of 11 as well as tournament glory.
Peter Daly of Daly Motor Spares, sponsors of the Open Stroke event at County Armagh Golf Club, presents the winner, Declan McReynolds, with his prize. Also pictured are Club Captain, Colm Shannon, and fourth-placed Paul Pender.
The three slots immediately below Declan on the Saturday leaderboard were filled respectively by the alliterative triumvirate of Ciaran Conroy, Stewart Stevenson and Paul Pender.
Conroy experienced something of a breakdown on Oul Coach Road and looked in need of some Daly Motor Spares to get him moving again. However, he responded to that quadruple bogey in impressive style, reeling off six pars on the trot straightaway after the turn. That fruitful run contributed greatly to Ciaran's fantastic nett 65, which sees his handicap reduced to 18.
Matching Conroy's nett total but missing out on a tie-breaker was Stewart Stevenson, who returned a sublime gross 68. Stevenson's two-under-par masterclass comprised five birdies, three bogeys and 10 pars, and he's now playing off two. Remarkably, this round didn't even represent Stewart's best effort of the weekend (more of which in future reports).
A treble bogey at the penultimate hole was the sole blot on Paul Pender's Open copybook, for elsewhere he performed magnificently. Paul's 38-stroke front nine was characterised by its serenity, and he registered a birdie and half-a-dozen more pars on the homeward trek. Pender is beginning to resemble Tony Finau in ability as well as choice of t-shirt.
In fifth place, Stuart Lee recorded a scintillating salvo of six birdies amid his swashbuckling gross 72. Lee was prevented from having a say further up the standings by double bogeys at the 8th and 18th, but he equalled Paul's terrific nett 66 and has had his handicap cut to five as a consequence.
Jamie Calvert's dozen pars provided the backbone of an excellent gross 79 that was undermined only by unwelcome sixes at the 11th and 17th. Still, the resultant nett 66 fittingly sealed 6th spot for Jamie and kept him one ahead of Daryl Lawson. All-Ireland Four-Ball Trophy stalwart Lawson sneaked into the 7th and final prizewinning berth largely on account of a wonderful stretch of seven pars and a bogey in the last eight holes.
The Saturday gross accolades were claimed by Joe Rooney and Jarlath McReynolds, both of whom signed for a high-quality one-under-par 69. Rooney's spectacular four-under-par back nine featured three birdies and an eagle, while Jarlath had to cope with the utter shame of being only two under par for his last nine holes.
In the Wednesday Open four days later on 8 August, Brendan McKinney was king of the over-50s with a tremendous 40-point offering that included four pars on each nine, while Stephen Monaghan's bountiful 41-point haul prevailed in the Open Stableford event. Monaghan's mid-round wobble of just one point gained from the 9th and 10th was entirely out of keeping with the brilliance of his eight pars and a birdie elsewhere.