When finishing in the silver medal position in the Webster Cup at County Armagh Golf Club in the early summer, Johnny Brown’s quest for the top honours was foiled only by a damaging hat-trick of double bogeys.
Seven weeks later, however, another Brown title bid hit no such snag as a virtually faultless offering delivered his victory in the Fairlawns Residential Home Open stroke tournament.
In this event, which was contested on 31 August, the then 10-handicpaper pulled up a five from the St Brigid’s Well opener before immediately reeling off a magical eight consecutive pars to secure a commanding halfway score.
Four more pars would follow on a composed second nine that ensured Johnny completed his round in just 76 strokes and could sign for a prevailing nett 66.
Closest to catching the deserved Fairlawns Open champion was runner-up, Mark Loughran, who performed delightfully throughout a two-over-par gross 72 made up of four bogeys, a dozen pars and a brace of birdies at the 9th and 12th. This first-rate golf from the Navan Fort native resulted in a nett 67 and left him on the cusp of a return to four-handicap status.
Elsewhere, the top two places in all three handicap sections were determined on a break of tie.
In category 1, James Currie and Darren O’Hagan both posted a nett 67 and were separated into first and second spots respectively. Currie matched the aforementioned Loughran blow for blow with a similarly masterly (and almost identically composed) gross 72, while O’Hagan was superb in parring 10 of the first 13 holes before a much less sure-footed showing thereafter.
Meanwhile, Conlon Rice sent a reminder that it’s not just the younger members of CAGC’s burgeoning Keady contingent who are capable of putting their names up in lights. The experienced campaigner racked up eight pars on his way to a splendid nett 68 that proved unbeatable in category 2.
Runner-up to Rice in this bracket was Jim McCreesh, who might understandably rue his eight dropped shots in the last five holes — he and O’Hagan might want to have an empathetic chat about how it all went wrong in those closing stages! — but ought instead to revel in the generally high calibre of an outing that incorporated 10 pars and a birdie at the Quarry.
A pair of nett 68s from gross 87s clinched the awards in category 3, where Damian Grimley pipped Gerry Cullen on a account of his superior back-nine display. Damian’s competent knock featured a nap-hand of pars, while Gerry’s play was particularly economical during a fine run of five pars in six holes either side of the turn.
Finally, a typically elegant level-par 70, which included three birdies in the first six holes, enabled Neil Cromwell to add yet another gross accolade to his considerable career stockpile.
Johnny Brown, winner of a recent Open Stroke at County Armagh Golf Club, is presented with his prize by Claire Cassidy, manager of competition sponsors Fairlawns Residential Home. Also pictured are Club Captain, Kenny Edgar, and other prizewinners (L-R) Jim McCreesh, Adam Cromwell (collecting on behalf of his dad, Neil), and Gerry Cullen.