GOLF ALL IRELAND CUPS AND SHIELDS:AS THE sun split the skies on yesterday's opening day of the Bulmers-sponsored All Ireland Cups and Shields finals at Monkstown Golf Club, Portmarnock and Limerick negotiated their way into today's final of the Barton Shield, writes Paul GallagheratMonkstown.
In winning their semi-finals, the Leinster and Munster champions remain on course for All Ireland doubles as Portmarnock will also contest the Senior Cup while Limerick have a team in the Pierce Purcell Shield, which also gets under way today.
Portmarnock took on the Ulster champions, Belvoir Park, in a closely fought encounter before the Dublin side prevailed by four holes. Although neither of the Portmarnock pairings trailed at any point in the matches, which are played as foursomes, they were pushed all the way by a determined Belvoir side.
James Fox and Aengus McAllister eventually got the better of Johnny McWilliams and Barry Cashman in the top game by two holes. The former Ireland international Niall Goulding and Michael Brett also won by two holes over Andrew Morris and Harry Diamond.
"We always knew Belvoir were going to be a tough nut to crack and they were," said Cork native Goulding, who is enjoying something of a homecoming this week. "I grew up playing a lot of golf around here; it's second nature for me and that has its advantages, no doubt about it."
In fact the two-time West of Ireland champion (1990, 1991) won a Munster Barton Shield title with Cork Golf Club in 1986 before he joined Portmarnock over 20 years ago. To date his only All Ireland success with his adopted club happens to be 20 years ago when he returned home in 1988 and won the Senior Cup with Portmarnock at Cork Golf Club.
The GUI took the wise step of introducing preferred lies on the fairways and that looks set to carry through the week.
Semi-final wins by Naas and Ballina mean the Leinster or Connacht champions will be crowned All Ireland Junior Cup champions for the first time when they contest today's final.
CUPS AND SHIELDS RESULTS AND DRAW
BARTON SHIELD
Semi-finals:Portmarnock bt Belvoir Park by 4 holes (Portmarnock names first): J Fox, A McAllister bt J McWilliams, B Cashman by 2 holes; M Brett, N Goulding bt A Morris, H Diamond by 2 holes.
Limerick bt Athlone by 5 holes (Limerick names first): M O'Kelly, M Poucher bt M Rowe, A Dooley by 4 holes; P Murray, G Vaughan bt C O'Connor, K McDonagh by 1 hole.
JUNIOR CUP
Semi-finals:Naas 3½ Ballycastle 1½ (Naas names first): R Lynch bt T McConville 2 and 1; D Keane lost to L Quinn 3 and 2; G Fitzpatrick bt D McCormick 3 and 2; D Prendergast bt C Egan 3 and 2; C O'Rourke halved with H Sayers.
Ballina 3 Adare Manor 2 (Ballina names first): R Dervin lost to J Hickey 3 and 2; P Howley bt D Carroll 6 and 5; S Lydon bt B Hickey 1 hole; J Kelly lost to M Costello 5 and 3; Pl McLoughlin bt D Harrington 4 and 2.
TODAY'S DRAW PIERCE PURCELL
Semi-finals(8am): Castlebar v Limerick (Castlebar names first): P Rice, TJ Prendergast v J Reilly, D Barriscale; J McHale, M Grennan v E Grimes, E Kirby; C Dawson, D Molloy v M Ahern, M Ryan; M McGing, J Jennings v J Kemmy, D Ryan; C Muldoon, D Carey v J Gleeson, G Gleeson.
(8.50am) Warrenpoint v Royal Tara (Warrenpoint names first): S Sands, D Flanagan v M Burke, P Martin; A Ferguson, P Devlin v W Donnelly, S Duignan; N Devine, S Pentony v F Collier, J Mahon; K Caldwell, M McGivern v R Reynolds, B Gaughran; S Colgan, R Jackson v D Foley, P O'Brien.
JUNIOR CUP- Final (11am): Naas v Ballina (Naas names first): R Lynch v B Cox; E McCormack v P Howley; G Fitzpatrick v S Lydon; D Prendergast v J Kelly; C O'Rourke v P McLoughlin.
BARTON SHIELD- Final (noon): Portmarnock v Limerick (Portmarnock names first): J Fox, A McAllister v M O'Kelly, M Poucher; M Brett, Nl Goulding v P Murray, G Vaughan.
