The last item on County Armagh Golf Club’s 2019 white-marker fixture list was wrapped up in thrilling fashion on 29 September, when Marty Gill went sub-par to grab tournament glory.
Gill shot to the summit of the Sunday standings through an exceptional gross 69 that earned him 42 points and a new handicap of four for the winter. This virtuoso display contained 15 pars — as well as a bogey at the 6th that was more than ameliorated by birdies at the 6th and 10th — and it put a pleasing seal on what was a rewardingly consistent qualifying campaign for Marty.
Elsewhere, overall runner-up in the season-finale event’s pecking order was Bill Knipe, whose seven-over-par offering included birdies at the 5th and 8th and yielded a magnificent 41 points.
Meanwhile, Michael Cullen was a phenomenal four under par for half a dozen holes either side of the turn. Michael’s remarkable 19-point salvo from that six-hole purple patch helped catapult him to the top of the category 1 reckoning.
A 39-point final haul kept Cullen one clear of Shea Smyth, who filled second position in the 0-12 bracket with a fabulous gross 71 that featured four birdies.
Aidan McParland tasted outright Sunday competition success on 25 August, but he was happy to settle for the category 2 plaudits this time out courtesy of a 37-point display that recovered well from a scrappy start. Runner-up to Aidan was 35-point Daryl Lawson, another player whose outing improved the longer it continued.
Finally, the same stableford score of 35 points delivered Kevin Grimley to pre-eminence in category 3. Productive pars at the 6th, 7th, 11th and 17th were the highlights for the winner in this section, where Gary McCusker was next best with a steady 34-point scorecard.
