Hanlon wins the Gavigan Cup
Alan Hanlon – Winner of the Gavigan Cup 2013
Alan Hanlon continued his amazing run of form by winning his 4th consecutive major club competition in Collinstown. His win in the Gavigan Cup final was all the more impressive when you consider his opponent was course specialist Liam Buckley. Hanlon has always had a love affair with this competition as he considers the club matchplay to be one of the hardest competitions to win in a club. This belief came from his days in the Campions Club in Dublin, where he also held the same respect for the Campions Cup, which was their club matchplay competition. Alan has now set a new record in Collinstown by becoming the only player to win the Gavigan cup 4 times.
The final started with Liam winning the first, only to lose holes 2 and 3. Birdies were swapped over the next few holes and after 9, Liam was again 1 up. Alan got on a bit of a roll though at that stage, winning 3 of the next 5 holes to take a 2 hole advantage after 14. He extended this lead to 3 after 18 and it looked like he might be getting a grip on the match.
Liam Buckley – runner-up in the Gavigan Cup final
When both men missed easy chances for birdie on the first, it looked like some nerves were setting it. Liam however capitalized on a bad tee-shot from Hanlon on the second to reduce the deficit to 2 again. A bogie on 3 from Buckley gave the hole straight back but then a switch flipped and the Liam Buckley we all know about kicked into action. ‘Clem’, as he is affectionately known around Glenidan parts, proceeded to birdie the next 6 holes and completely turned the match around. He now led by 1 hole with 9 remaining. Both men parred 10 but then Hanlon did what Hanlon does on 11 – chipped in from off the fringe to square up the match.
Both men made good birdies on 12 so all square with 6 to go. Hanlon pitched an excellent ball to 13 and forced Liam to go at the pin. His pitch drifted left and missed the green resulting in bogie. Liam followed with another untimely bogie on 14 so Alan was 2 up with 4 to go. Both men missed their birdie attempts on 15 and Liam had to make a good 6 footer on 16 to stay in the match. Hanlon was not to be denied though and pitched to 18 inches on 17. When Liam didn’t hole his pitch the game was up – Hanlon had got his 4th Gavigan win.
Click here for a full run-down on all match results in this year’s Gavigan Cup