MULLINGAR SCRATCH CUP: Greg Bowden is well versed with play-off purgatory. Twice this season he suffered the disappointment of losing out in major championships on tie holes but yesterday at Mullingar Golf Club he got to experience the flip side of the equation, winning their prestigious scratch cup.
Beaten in the final of the West of Ireland and South of Ireland Championships, the Hermitage golfer didn't particularly relish another trial by sudden death but at least it appeared the lesser of two evils at the time. He had to hole a four foot putt on the home green just to extend the contest.
Starting yesterday's final 36 holes he stood five shots clear of his nearest rival Michael McGeady and by the time he fortified himself with a lunch-time bowl of soup and a sandwich, the margin remained intact, Bowden and McGeady recording level par 72s in the morning.
The real shenanigans started on the ninth green in the afternoon when McGeady holed from 15 feet for birdie while Bowden missed from little more than three having almost pitched-in. The gap at that stage was seven shots but the missed opportunity must have played on Bowden's mind as he recorded bogeys on 10, 11 and 12.
Suddenly what appeared like a procession became a contest, even more so when McGeady holed his second shot at the par four, 13th for eagle. Having driven into a bush he was fortunate to come to rest in ground under repair and so was given a free drop. He maximised his good fortune when holing out with a gap wedge.
It wasn't simply a tête-à-tête. Bowden stood at five under, McGeady at four but during the next half hour Mullingar's John Junior Morris and Raymond Williams of Baltinglass managed to haul themselves to within a shot of the lead. The closing stretch proved a roller coaster for all four players, Morris and Williams eventually finishing on three under.
When Bowden birdied the par five 14th to lead by two he found himself once again in the box seat and his bogey at the next was eased by the fact McGeady suffered a similar fate. The strain of Bowden's exertions in the recent South of Ireland, coupled with playing 36 holes in the Barton Shield last Friday, 18 in Saturday's final, 36 over the first two rounds in Mullingar on the Sunday and another two rounds yesterday in largely stifling heat, rendered him understandably frazzled.
The strain was etched on his face even more so when the North West golfer birdied the 16th and Bowden conceded a shot to the card on the 17th. The leading characters in what was adopting a soap-opera story line, stood tied on four under playing the final hole.
McGeady hit the green at the par five in two but couldn't convert his 20-foot eagle opportunity; Bowden did superbly to get up and down for birdie, holing a slippery four footer. The 19th and 20th were halved in regulation figures, before the contest was decided on the 21st. Bowden hit an exquisite wedge to a foot and the birdie putt was a formality. "It's just great to top off a really great season with a trophy," he said.
McGeady, who was beaten by one hole in this season's Irish Close Championship at Murvagh, was gracious in defeat. "Fair play to Greg who held his composure really well in the play-off. I had always felt it was his to lose prior to the play-off. I just tried to hit my drive too hard on the third play-off hole going for the green."
A case of third time lucky for Bowden.
FinalScores
283 - G Bowden (Hermitage) 69 67 72 75 (won on third tie hole), M McGeady (North West) 68 73 72 70; 285 - R Williams (Baltinglass) 72 72 70 71, J Morris (Mullingar) 69 75 71 70; 287 A McCormick (Scrabo) 73 73 69 72; 288 P Murray (Limerick) 79 68 68 73; 289 P O'Brien (Lucan) 74 70 70 75, J Foster (Ballyclare) 73 79 69 68; 290 P Devine (Island) 73 75 73 69; 291 G Massey (Hermitage) 73 72 73 73, J McGinn (Laytown & Bettystown) 72 75 71 73; 292 D Carroll (Grange) 74 68 72 78; 293 M Brett (Portmarnock) 74 74 72 73, G O'Connor (Malahide) 74 73 72 74, A Dowling (Hermitage) 73 75 72 73, B O'Brien (Headfort) 73 73 73 74; 294 - D Morgan (Mullingar) 76 72 76 70, B Walton (Island) 75 76 71 72, R McCarthy (Island) 74 76 75 69, M Rowe (Athlone) 74 73 72 75, R Kilpatrick (Banbridge) 70 76 75 73; 295 - G Nugent (Kilkenny) 77 73 73 72, D Kelleher (Portmarnock) 72 75 76 72; 297 - D Coyle (Co Louth) 74 73 78 72; 298 - N Fox (Portmarnock) 76 75 73 74, E O'Sullivan (Island) 74 77 74 73; 299 - C Geraghty (St Annes) 76 70 77 76, A McKinley (Shandon Park) 75 74 75 75; 300 - D McInerney (Lahinch) 78 75 74 73, B O'Riordan (Muskerry) 78 72 74 76, J Lyons (Galway) 77 73 74 76, G McKevitt (Greenore) 74 78 73 75, R Leonard (Banbridge) 74 76 77 73; 301 - P O'Keeffe (Douglas) 73 71 75 82; 302 - M Butler (Athlone) 78 75 70 79, D O'Brien (Laytown & Bettystown) 73 75 78 76; 303: G O'Flaherty (Cork) 78 71 79 75, B Trainor (Warrenpoint) 77 76 74 76, L Gilligan (Citywest) 76 73 73 81, T O'Neill (Rathsallagh) 74 78 76 75; 305: M Shanahan (West Waterford) 76 73 79 77, R Flood (Hermitage) 73 75 78 79; 306: R Durnin (L'town & B'town) 76 76 77 77, J Curran (Elm Park) 76 75 78 77, J Drummond (Ballyclare) 72 74 81 79; 308: D Houlihan (K Club) 70 80 78 80; 312: L Ryan (Stackstown) 76 76 79 81, J Swarbrigg (Mullingar) 75 77 80 80; 315: E Coghlan (Hermitage) 77 76 82 80. Withdrew: J McDermott (Stackstown) 70 76 75.
