Kilkenny was the venue for our 2015 Greencard Golf Tour Irish event. It was the first time we’d visited an area which has so many fantastic golf courses. We based ourselves at the River Court Hotel, which is ideally located to access the many bars and restaurants of this medieval town.
The River Court Hotel Kilkenny – home for our 2015 Greencard Tour Event in Ireland
The golf programme for the week included two rounds on Carlow Golf Club, one on Mount Juliet Golf Course and one at Mount Wolseley Golf Club.
The opening round was held at Carlow on an overcast but warm Monday morning. Laid out in a beautiful deer park in 1922 the course is rated among the top championship courses in Ireland. It is a great test of golf and although many of the fairways are generous in width, position is everything in order to have a shot in to the small and testing greens.
Raybone Takes Early Lead at Carlow
Marian Raybone had a fantastic start to the week with 38 points, which included 20 points on the front nine. Kevin Shearan rolled back the years and came in with a wonderful 37 points. Tony Wells, required a tenth place finish or better to give him the remaining tour point required to qualify for the finals week in Portugal at the end of October. He started the week with a solid 36 whilst Melanie Baker and Peter Abbott were one back with 35.
Marion Raybone Scored a Superb 38 points at Carlow Golf Club in Round One
The second round was played at Mount Juliet which has hosted the World Championship of Golf and the Irish Open on more than one occasion. Mount Juliet is a superb Jack Nicklaus designed course is simply beautiful with the rolling fairways, many water hazards and contoured greens, all superbly blended into the spectacular setting of this famous old Irish estate.
Another Raybone Comes to the FORE! Plus a Second Ace of the Season!
Our second round was played at the magnificent Mount Juliet Golf Course This time it was the turn of Phil Raybone to take the day’s best score with 36 points. Ian Robinson had a round he will never forget, his 34 included his first hole in one on the par 3 14th.
This was the second ace in as many Tournaments for Greencard Golf Tour Players after Lodewijk Schlingemann holed out during our French event. In fact since the launch of the new Greencard Tour Hole in One Competition we’ve managed to have a winner at each tournament! If anyone manages to repeat the feat at our Scottish Tour Event we might start consulting the Guinness Book of Records!
Ian Robinson at the Scene of his First Ever Hole-in-One on the 14th at Mount Juliet
Meanwhile Tony Wells’s 33 points was enough to secure top spot at the half way stage. Phil was lying in second whilst Peter Abbott and Neil McGarva were one further back. Jackie Carter, following her runners up position in Hardelot also only required one more Tour Point to qualify for the Finals. After scores of 33 and 31 Jackie was in fifth place and was ideally placed with two rounds to go to claim that vital point.
Jackie Carter Closes in on 2015 Finals Qualification
As this was a four night event there was no rest day and so it was straight on with business and the third round at Mount Wolseley. The skies were blue and the sun was shining we began our round on this challenging parkland course, designed by Christy O’Connor Jnr. The visual delights of this magnificent setting are many with water coming into play on 11 holes.
It was here that Jackie Carter took a significant step closer to securing her place at the finals week. A superb 37 points to the top of the leaderboard with one round to play. John Shearan also had a great day with 35 points and as a result moved up to second place, just two points behind Jackie. Tony didn’t manage to hit the heights of the first two days but his 29 was enough to stay in the top three and just three points behind the lead. Neil McGarva’s 31 ensured his place in the final fourball for the last round.
All Set for an Exciting Final Round
Whist we had enjoyed beautiful weather at Mount Wolseley the forecast for the final round at Carlow promised showers in the morning with heavier rain due to arrive in the middle of the afternoon. The race was on to try and complete the tournament before the weather intervened.
We had moved the tee times forward by an hour and set off in the dry. The promised showers did arrive but this didn’t affect Linda Worth who capitalised on her score of 35 in the third round with 33 making a significant move up the leaderboard.
Tony Daly and John Meagher both shot 34, this was enough to confirm seventh place for John and the tour points required to qualify for the finals week. The high scores continued with Janette Roe, our current Greencard Golf Tour Champion, who carded a wonderful 37 points and a move into fifth place overall and secure her qualification to the finals and the chance to defend her title.
Shearan Hits the Front Right on Cue!
2015 Greencard Golf Tour Irish Event Top 3 From left: Neil McGarva, John Shearan & Tony Wells
In the final group John Shearan reached the turn with 19 points to Tony’s 13 and Neil’s 16. Jackie had fallen away a little with 12 but a strong back nine would still give her a chance of victory. However, John kept up the pressure on the back nine and another 19 gave him a superb 38 points for the day and a winning overall total of 137.
This proved too much for the chasing pack. Tony’s 30 points and 128 in total secured the runners up spot and his qualification for the finals week. Neil had already booked his place at the finals with a win in Marrakech back in February so the pressure was off and his 30 gave him third place overall with 126 points.
Jackie’s fortunes didn’t improve on the back nine but despite carding her lowest score of the week her solid scoring from the previous three rounds ensured that she finished in fifth position, and gained enough points for qualification to the finals – you can see the full list of our Greencard Golf Tour Finals Qualifiers and current points standings on our Order of Merit page here.
2016 Greencard Tour Irish Event to Rosapenna Announced
Our congratulations to John Shearan for his tremendous win on home soil and we are already looking forward to our 2016 Greencard Golf Tour Irish event which will take place from the 3rd July at the superb Rosapenna Golf Resort. For full details of the event please click here or call us on +44 (0)1249 507821.
