Mourne Golf Club News
09/10/23
By Paul Gallagher
By the close of play on another action-packed season at Mourne Golf Club, one golfer stood out from the rest as Barry Hillen was a deserving winner of the prestigious Golfer of the Year title for 2023.
Never mind the consistency of play all season, it was Hillen’s haul of trophies at the season-ending prizegiving that reminded everyone of the great year the four-handicapper enjoyed.
There was rarely a week when Hillen’s name didn’t feature near the business end of competition leaderboards. He’d put the work in with dedicated sessions at the range and his efforts bore fruit when he landed several of the season’s major titles, such as the Annesley Cup and Speedy Cup before going on to receive the Golfer of the Year trophy.
“I’m delighted to have won this year’s Golfer of the Year title, it’s one that I’ve been chasing for a few years now and have come close on occasion, but never won,” said a delighted Hillen after the presentation.
“I’ve been playing competitively for several years but made the decision 18 months ago to put more time into my practice in addition to involvement in the regular club and inter-club competitions.
“There is no big secret, I regularly use the practice facilities such as the putting greens and warm-up areas at Royal County Down to try and improve my game. Course management has also played a part in my recent success, making a greater effort to eliminate those double bogeys!
“It’s great to see the improvement over the last 18 months, plus I enjoy the game more now. I enjoyed the success over the last six months and hope it continues into next season,” added Hillen.
The presentation of all the annual cups and trophies took place at the season-ending Annual at Home event recently. As a prestigious event in its own right, there was plenty of stiff competition for the top prize before Brian Gilleece did just enough to come out on top.
Gilleece kept his best golf for last to win with a great score of 38 points. The 11-handicapper won on a countback from Daniel O’Rourke, who also had 38 points to take second. Martin Mallett squeezed into third on 37, the same mark as Brendy Brown in fourth, with Mark Lindsay fifth with 35.
Noel Crawford won the best gross with this two-over 73 in a round that contained four birdies, while Noel Murray won the Veteran’s prize.
-ENDS
Main Pic:
Hillen’s Haul: Barry Hillen receiving the Annesley Cup, the Speedy Cup and Golfer of the Year trophy for 2023 from captain Gareth Malley after his dominant season at Mourne Golf Club.
Annual Trophy Winners 2023
- Golfer of the Year: Barry Hillen
- Scratch Cup: Mark Feenan
- Junior Scratch Cup: Gerry Vaughan
- Annesley Cup: Barry Hillen
- Council Prize: Kieran Poland
- King Cup: Alan Truesdale
- McManus Cup: Andrew Torrens
- Quinn Cup: John Kielty
- Speedy Cup: Barry Hillen
- Wallace Cup: Kieran Poland
- Spring Medal: Kevin Quinn
- April Medal: Brian Gilleece
- May Medal: Gareth Malley
- Harvest Medal: Michael Hazzard
- Donard Nursery Cup: Mark Guinness & Sean O’Higgins
- Marshall Foursomes: Tony Murray & Brian Fitzpatrick
- Wadsworth Cup: Dermot Hawkins & Brendan Brown
Annual At Home 2023
- Brian Gilleece (38 points)
- Daniel O’Rourke (38)
- Martin Mallett (37)
- Brendan Brown (37)
- Mark Lindsay (35)
Related Posts
24/07/2024
Donald, Fox and Horschel set for Amgen Irish Open returns
European Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald will tee it up at this year’s Amgen…
12/07/2024
Guinness the cream of the crop in PGA Tankard
Low scores were the staple of Sunday morning on the Royal County Down…
02/07/2024
Valiant Senior Cup and Junior Cowdy efforts ultimately fall short
Both Senior Cup and Junior Cowdy teams fell to battling defeats on Sunday…
17/06/2024
Brennan wins Curran’s Captain’s Day at Mourne
On a pristine day on the Championship Links at Royal County Down it was…
11/06/2024
Mourne to meet Warrenpoint in Senior Cup Semis
The Mourne Senior Cup team returned to Clandeboye last Sunday and put in a…
03/06/2024
Back Nine Birdie Barrage Helps Cunningham Win June Medal
Three birdies on the back nine helped secure the June Medal title for…