'Expert' win for Brian Daly

The last of the Men's 'summer' competitions, the rescheduled Expert electrical superstore, Mullingar sponsored singles took place in beautiful, autumnal conditions on Sunday last.Off the blue markers, the course was playing its full length; nevertheless there was some very good scoring.Thirty nine stableford points were returned by eleven handicappers, Pete Purcell and Brian Daly, the latter continuing his hamper form and getting the valuable first prize on the tie break from this year's captain's prize winner. There was more celebrating in the Purcell family as younger brother Gerry scored a hole in one at the difficult fifth in Sunday's competition. Third nett in the competition went to early bird Tom Daly, whose score looked good for a good part of the day. The best gross score was returned by our competitions chairman Danny. Fourth, fifth and sixth nett were won by Pat Smyth, Liam Conlon, our vice captain and Martin McCormack while the juniors' prize was won by young Mark Kelly.Full Expert results:First nett: Brian Daly (11) 39 points; Second nett: Pete Purcell (11) 39 points; Third nett: Tom Daly (18) 38 points; Best gross: Danny Grehan (7) 29 points; Fourth nett: Pat Smyth (13) 37 points; Fifth nett: Liam Conlon (18) 37 points; Sixth nett: Martin McCormack (18) 37 points; Juniors: Mark Kelly (5) 38 points.Winners will be notified regarding presentation night.Club fourball win for Eamon Shaw and Joe MartinThe club fourball match play competition, which had an initial entry of over seventy pairs, concluded on Saturday last with an enthralling final that produced some very good golf and several birdies. The protagonists were Bernard McDonnell in partnership with Ross McKinley against the rather fancied pairing of Joe Martin and Eamon Shaw. Congratulations to the latter pair which was victorious on the penultimate green after some excellent dovetailing on their part, while the vanquished can be proud of their performance, considering their concession of bags of shots in every round.Men's seniors' golfA large turnout of forty nine golfers competed on Tuesday, October 13 in ideal conditions. The returns did justice to the day with scores being of a high order. The winner with 30pts over 12 holes was Frank McKeon, followed by John Tweddle on 27pts. Liam Conlon was third with 25pts. The Super Seniors' prize was won by Brendan Timlin.Turkeys nextAll is in readiness for the annual turkey hunt which starts on this coming weekend, details of which and the men's winter leave are available on the relevant notice boards.Golfer of the YearAs a result of consistent performances over the season, The Cooney Sports players of the year are as follows: Men - Nigel Murtagh; Junior - Mark Kelly.Congratulations to both.Ladies BranchHard to believe that we've played the last of our 18 hole competitions for 2009 and that we are truly in the season of reduced-round events. Even though the summer failed to materialise, little happened to dampen the great golfing spirit in the ladies branch with highlights coming from our All-Ireland Mixed and Challenge Cup teams.  It feels like only a matter of weeks since this PRO tried her hand at a jaunty piece acknowledging the arrival into office of Ger Bell and her committee. Now, almost a year later, our Lady Captain can begin to reflect with immense satisfaction on a job expertly done as she prepares to pass the baton to Brege McCarrick in a month's time.  For most, the winter heralds a time for hibernation and indoor activity but as long as the golf course is fit to open the winter is a great time to make strides with the game. Keep an eye on the notice board for details about the winter league which will kick off shortly. There are a couple of weeks remaining in the Autumn Leaves competition with October 31 the last date for cards.  Last week's competition was a two person team event kindly sponsored by Bridie Morris and Rose Harrity. Margaret Forde (25) and Jean Bennett (22) were the worthy winners with a huge total of 37 points over the fifteen holes played. Siobhan Ruane (23) and Annmarie Conlon (15) were second with 34 points. Third place was secured by two of Mullingar's finest golfers, Margaret Fagan (20) and Kathleen Reilly (21) also with 34 points. Liz Osborne was the best of the players competing in the senior 9 hole category.  Results15 Holes Two person team.1st: Margaret Forde (25) andJean Bennett (22) 37 points; 2nd Siobhan Ruane (23) and Annemarie Conlon (14) 34 points; 3rd Margaret Fagan (20) and Kathleen Reilly (21) 34 points.