MOURNE GOLF CLUB NEWS

April 7, 2025

By Conor Keenan

SPRING MEDAL SPONSOR

Thomas Burns delivered his best ever round to win Mourne Golf Club’s Spring Medal presented by DJ Magiggs last Sunday, carding a spectacular one-over-par 72 for a net score of 64, seven better than his handicap.

Burns’ score was made all that more impressive by the difficult playing conditions that met competitors for the opening counting competition of the year at Royal County Down. Although the sun was shining on what proved to be a beautiful spring day, a stiff breeze coming from the east meant the Championship Links really showed its teeth, especially with competitors playing from the medal tees, one further back from the regular yellow tees.

Consistency was the theme of Burns’ round, carding four strong pars on the opening four holes which played long and difficult due to players playing into the wind. His first dropped shot came at the fifth which had the highest score average for the day, but Burns responded with pars on 6, 7 and 8 before a strong birdie on the long par 4 ninth.

Pars would feel like birdies to most players on Sunday morning and Burns couldn’t stop making them. He began his back nine with six consecutive pars, five of which were made on holes playing into the wind. The turn for home delivered another par at 15 before carding his second birdie of the day on the short par 4 16th.

Burns’ previous best score on the Championship Links was a five-over-par 76, a score he has shot twice before in competition. On Sunday, he stood on the 18th tee one-under-par, knowing a birdie would bag him a gross score of 69. The course finally got the better of Burns as he made an untimely double bogey to finish at one-over-par for the round, a great score nevertheless in difficult conditions.

To speak to how impressive Burns’ score was, he finished six shots ahead of second place in the division one category, with recently-inducted honorary member and Irish senior amateur player Noel Crawford shooting a two-over-par score of 73 to finish one better than his handicap. Senior cup member Stephen Barker took third place, shooting level par on the back nine to pip fellow Senior Cup teammate Jack Keenan to a podium place after an unfortunate lie in a greenside bunker led to a bogey on the final hole for the Castlewellan native.

Barker picked up the gross prize which is sponsored by Smyths Centra for every medal during the season.

Keelin O’Higgins’ stellar round of nett 75 meant he took the Division Two title, while an impressive performance from Gerard Finlay that included a birdie on 12 led to a nett 70 and a win in Division 3.

The Mourne Golf Club once again thanks member Paul McCardle (DJ Magiggs) for his generous sponsorship of the event  and Smyths Centra for the gross prize and all members and local businesses who are sponsoring competitions during the busy upcoming 2025 season.