Back-to-back tournament triumphs at County Armagh Golf Club are a rare gem indeed, but that was exactly the feat achieved by Johnny Brown on the Cathedral City fairways recently.
On 31 August, Brown topped the leaderboard in the Fairlawns Open and, in the very definition of “making hay while the sun shines”, he immediately followed that up with victory in the September Medal just 24 hours later.
The Medal event, which was sponsored by Holmes and Doran Surveyors Ltd, saw Johnny reach the turn at just one over par by virtue of an outward scorecard that showed half a dozen pars, a couple of bogeys and a birdie at the 2nd.
And the then nine-handicapper continued in that profitable vein early in the second half with four more pars in a row from the 10th to 13th. A treble bogey at Sequoias then brought his Sunday momentum to a shuddering halt. Brown’s response was emphatic, however: a stunning par-birdie-bogey-birdie finish.
Unlike sunny haymaking, “after the lord mayor’s show” is clearly a saying with which Johnny holds no truck, for this gross 73 was a full three shots better than the 76 that secured his Open win a day previously.
It ensured, too, that Brown’s sparkling weekend culminated in his deserved pocketing of the final monthly medal on offer from CAGC 2019 domestic campaign.
Johnny’s aforementioned doughty display over the last few holes was proved to have been entirely necessary, as Adam Hunniford matched the prevailing nett tally and was defeated only on a break of tie. Adam’s wonderful gross 75 and nett 64 was another high-quality affair comprising 11 pars, six bogeys and a birdie at Crossways, and the resultant 11-to-10 handicap snip leaves him poised to return to single figures.
The lowest gross score of the September Medal proceedings was returned by Martin Gill, whose exquisite 71-shot outing included a hat-trick of birdies at the 4th, 6th and 12th. Martin’s accruing nett 66 took care of business in category 1, where second place was filled by Noel Murtagh. The 11-handicapper posted a nett 68 that was boosted in no small measure by a tremendous opening ratio of 10 pars in the first 12 holes.
In category 2, Stephen Monaghan and Roy Davis were locked on superb nett 65 totals and separated into first and second positions respectively on a countback. With the pair seemingly mimicking one another’s every Medal move, both men birdied the 14th and earned 13-to-12 handicap reductions from their 78-stroke showings.
Finally, the category 3 plaudits went to John Daglish on account of a handicap-equalling round that contained pars at the 9th, 13th and 18th. And runner-up to Daglish was Gary McCusker, whose satisfying nett 70 was similarly steadfast.
September Medal champion, Johnny Brown, receives his voucher from County Armagh Golf Club Captain, Kenny Edgar, who was also representing sponsors, Holmes and Doran Surveyors Ltd. Also pictured are other prizewinners (L-R): Noel Murtagh, Roy Davis, and John Daglish. Damien Grimley collected his prize from the previous day’s Open competition.