King wins Wallace Cup as ‘Tibby’ nets an ace

It might have been the start of a new season, but it was the same old elements that tested golfers for the ADT Electrical sponsored Wallace Cup where Anthony King stuck to the task to get an early win under his belt, while the day also had a hole in one!

With winds gusting at over 40 mile per hour, golf on the Annesley Link was close to unplayable, except the Mourne Golf Club diehards had other ideas and took their chances over the links on the same day the Royal County Down Ladies’ Scratch Cup took place over the Championship Links.

King won with an impressive six over round of 73 that left him with a winning nett 72, to be two better than James McIlmurray in second (74), with Leonard Murray, Mark Lindsay and Paul Mullan all returning nett 75s.

King made a steady if unspectacular start with three bogeys in the opening four holes. However, a run of seven consecutive pars got the winner passed the difficult ninth and 10^th holes (the Annesley Links’ very own Amen Corner). Further dropped shots came at 12 and 18 with a double bogey on 16, but a solitary birdie two at 14 was key to King’s winning score.

On a day when pars, let alone birdies, were hard to come by, it was the players who kept their heads and remained patient that fared best. King’s 73 was also the best gross score when over half the field had No Returns (NR).

Special mention also goes to Gerard ‘Tibby’ Toner (pictured) for he did the unthinkable in such testing conditions by making a hole in one on the par three 11^th. A wonderful highlight on such a tricky day.

It’s also worth mentioning Feargal Rodgers, a long time weekly playing partner of King. Rodgers had signed for a nett 72, which meant he was top of the leaderboard for much of the day, one ahead of King. However, upon later realising his score entry on the competition computer showed a five on the par four 10^th hole instead of a six, he immediately contacted Match & Handicapping to disqualify himself.

A true example of the integrity in which the game of golf is built upon. The season is young and surely the golfing gods will be on Rodgers’ side through the year.