Golf:Mary Dowling landed the Women's Irish Close title after a crucial eight-foot birdie putt on the 18th green at Portstewart Golf Club denied young prodigy Leona Maguire in today's final.
The final was a tense affair with the match swinging one way then the other before Dowling got the better of her younger opponent to win one up. The New Ross golfer was quick out of the blocks before Maguire responded mid round for the match to be level by the time they were standing on the 17th tee.
The penultimate hole was halved in birdie to set up a grandstand finish. Both played just short of the par five 18th in two with Maguire pitching to 12 feet and Dowling inside her to eight feet.
After the 15-year-old missed the stage was set for Dowling to roll the tricky birdie putt home and land the title which eluded her in last year’s final when she lost to Maguire’s twin sister Lisa.
The early exchanges saw Dowling open with a birdie at the par four first before a run of three pars were good enough to go two up on her Slieve Russell opponent. Dowling’s lead was increased to three after the fifth when Maguire failed to get up and down from close range.
Maguire stuck to the task and the Curtis Cup player duly responded when pars at six and seven were enough to reduce the deficit to one. Difficult cross wind conditions at the Antrim links meant both made bogey at the ninth for Dowling to hold a narrow one hole advantage at the turn.
Parity was restored at the 10th when Dowling failed to get out of the greenside bunker before Maguire captured the lead for the first time when she made birdie at the 312 yard par four 11th.
At a crucial stage in the match Maguire appeared to be the more focused and went two up after sinking a 12 foot birdie at the 14th.
Dowling then won the par three 15th with par and brought the game all-square when she holed from six feet for par at 16 when Maguire found the bunker and was unable to get up and down.
It was a match that could have gone either way but Dowling kept her composure to close out the win on the final green.
Dowling had booked her place in the final with a 2 and 1 win over Maura Diamond from Royal Portrush, while Maguire defeated Malone’s Louise Coffey 3 and 1 in the other semi-final.
Maguire will now have one eye on the Curtis Cup when she and her twin Lisa, along with Royal County Down's Danielle McVeigh, form part of the Britain and Ireland team to take on the Americans at Essex Golf Club in Massachusetts from June 11th-13th.
Women's Irish Close Results
Final
Mary Dowling (New Ross) defeated Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) one hole
Semi-finals
Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) defeated Louise Coffey (Malone) (3 and 1)
Maura Diamond (Royal Portrush) lost to Mary Dowling (New Ross) (2 and 1)
Quarter-final results
Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) defeated Charlene Reid (Royal Portrush) one hole
Louise Coffey (Malone) defeated Karen Delaney (Carlow) 4 and 3
Maura Diamond (Royal Portrush) defeated Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell) 3 and 1
Mary Dowling (New Ross) defeated Jenny Gannon (Co. Louth) 4 and 3