Bardon Shield – Semi-Finals Review
Last Wednesday night saw the semi-finals of the Bardon Shield take place. The first day of summer corresponded with the first summers evening to give pleasant conditions for the evenings matches. First up was the match between John Browne’s team (consisting of John, Anne Kelly and Watty Kenny) and Liz Bloem’s team (consisting of Liz, Michael Flynn and Mick Scally). The scramble proved to be troublesome for both teams with birdies hard to come by. In the end both teams recorded a 46 to give victory to Liz’s team by virtue of the handicap. next up was John Browne against Michael Flynn in the singles. John had the unenviable task of giving Mick 6 shots in this match and indeed it proved to be a difficult task. Mick led from the start and was still 2 up with 4 to play. A run of 4 birdies over the final 4 holes however was enough to secure a half for John Browne and kept the semi-final alive. This meant that Watty and Anne needed to beat Liz and Mick Scally to force a play-off situation. Watty and Anne led by 2 going down the 12th but slowly but surely Liz and Mick were turning around the match. The match was all-square going to 17 and when Mick rolled in the birdie putt to go 1 up , it was enough to secure the place in the final for Liz’s team.
The second semi-final saw Martin Carter, George Carolan and Martin Carroll take on Mick Buckley, Gary Middleton and Mick Heffernan. The scramble was a one-sided affair with Mick’s team running out winners with a fantastic gross score of 41. This meant that Martin Carroll had to beat Gary Middleton in the singles to keep the tie alive. Unfortunately for Martin, Gary was in top form and dominated this match throughout. Gary eventually ran out a 4 & 3 winner to put Mick’s team through to the final. The doubles match between the two Micks against Martin and George also went to Mick’s team to give them a comfortable victory.
This sets up an exciting final to the competition on Wednesday 15th May. The team of Mick Buckley, Gary Middleton and Mick Heffernan will take on Liz Bloem, Mick Flynn and Mick Scally.