A sub-par round is worthy of success in any competition at County Armagh Golf Club, and that was exactly how it panned out for Marty Gill in a stableford event on 12 May.
Marty's near immaculate 69-stroke outing comprised birdies at the 8th and 12th and a hefty haul of 15 other pars, with the only blemish coming in the shape of an inconsequential bogey at the closing hole.
The resultant 42 points handed the big-hitter a new handicap of four in addition to the top Sunday honours. And Gill will hope to bring this scintillating form with him to Nuremore on 2 June , when he will be a key member of Stewart Stevenson's side at the Junior Cup qualifying session.
The runner-up to Marty was Ryan Runnette, whose handicap continues to make steady progress downwards. Three pars in the last seven holes boosted Ryan's stableford tally to a wonderful 41 points and added another voucher to his burgeoning early-season collection.
Category 1 was contested at a frighteningly high standard. John Maguire and Philip Kelly were two more players to break par, and they claimed first and second spots respectively here. Maguire's magical gross 68 amassed 40 points, whereas Kelly's terrific 69 yielded a measly 38!
Elsewhere, Garrett O'Reilly chinned the ball rightly all morning and, allied with plenty of deft touches round the greens, that helped the Dromiskin dynamo to a back nine featuring five pars and a birdie, 38 points overall and first place in category 2.
O'Reilly was trailed most closely by the prolific prize-gathering machine that is Ian Ritchie. The then 15-handicapper's 37-point scorecard included a birdie out at Rokeby Green and a solid 4,5 climax that represented a sound response to a no-score on 16.
Three consecutive pars from the 2nd to the 4th got Robert Fagan up and running nice and early, and he would eventually sign for a very pleasing handicap-bettering 37 points that proved without compare in category 3. Benny Simpson did his best to reach that target but, despite an excellent birdie at the 15th, he ultimately had to content himself with 34 points and a runner-up berth in this cohort.
Meanwhile, the Wednesday Open Stableford schedule is well under way, with three such midweek tournament days already behind us. On Wednesday 8 May, Kieran Beagan's fabulous 42 points topped the seniors pile and, with the same number, Calum Connell reprised his Golfer of the Year fettle to triumph among the under-50s.
Seven days later, the victory pair scored even more heavily. This time, Roger Duggan and Pierce Purchell chief, Ian Millar, each plundered a tremendous 43 points to prevail in their relevant age brackets. And most recently, on 22 May, Jarlath McReynolds gleefully jumped aboard the sub-par bandwagon on his way to a 42-point Wednesday Open title while, with 39 points, the irrepressible Ian Ritchie couldn't be caught by any of his senior rivals.