This is a stage made for unsung heroes. Yesterday, not for the first time, Garrett Mallon filled the role. On days of close encounters such as these, nerves get frayed and serious questions need to be answered.
Cast in the role of anchorman, the 26-year-old car dealer performed his duties with admirable equanimity and steered North West Golf Club into the final of the Irish Senior Cup, where they will meet centenary-celebrating Hermitage.
As a stiff and persistent wind blew across the Rosslare links, North West - which is 110 years old but still without a national green pennant - emerged 3-2 winners over Galway, who were for the third time this week overlooked by the golfing gods when the time came for dispensing good fortune.
In the other semi-final, Hermitage defeated Limerick 3 ½-1 ½, with Irish international Greg Bowden securing the match-winning point on the 18th green.
On the penultimate day of the Bulmers All-Ireland Cups and Shields, there was an historic - and dramatic - first national title for Castleblayney, who defeated Castletroy 3-2 in the final of the Pierce Purcell Shield, while The Island and Ballybunion beat Mannan Castle and Carrick-on-Shannon in their respective semi-finals of the Jimmy Bruen Shield to guarantee that at least one pennant won't be destined for Ulster, whose teams have so far dominated the finals.
North West's run to the Senior Cup final has been built on the backs of Brian McElhinney, the British Amateur champion, and fellow-international Michael McGeady, who will soon embark on a professional career. Yesterday, pretty much as expected, the pair - "They're probably in the top two or three players in the country at present," remarked Mallon - won their matches.
McElhinney beat Eddie McCormack 3 and 2, while McGeady beat former Irish champion Mark O'Sullivan by the same margin.
In this format, though, a third man has to come up trumps. That was Mallon, who is not without a pedigree of his own and overdue a change in luck. In the Irish Close earlier this season, he was the fourth-leading qualifier but lost at the 23rd hole to Pat Killeen in the first round of matchplay, and in the North of Ireland he also lost in the first round, on the 18th to Des Morgan.
Yesterday, he ensured North West's progression with a win on the 18th over Tom Nolan.
In a high-quality, nip-and-tuck match, Mallon went one up on the 13th with a winning par. On the 17th, it looked as if he'd sealed the win after he played a magnificent approach to 12 feet out of a fairway bunker, but his birdie putt hit the hole and didn't drop.
So the 482-yard, par-five 18th became crucial.
The critical play was Nolan's aggressive decision to go for the green in two. Hitting a driver off the deck, from a down slope with the ball below his feet, he failed to connect properly and pulled it left.
Mallon, who changed his mind and switched from a four- to a five-iron for his approach, finished just left of the green and pitched to 12 feet. When Nolan holed out for his par, it meant Mallon had two putts to win. He needed only one, finishing with a birdie to win by two holes and earn North West's passage into the final.
Hermitage's only win in the Senior Cup came in 1926, but yesterday's semi-final win over Limerick moved them closer to bridging that gap.
Greg Massey was a 7 and 6 winner over Mike Kemmy, while Brian O'Connor was a 2 and 1 winner over Pat Murray, finishing off with an 18-footer for birdie. After a see-saw front nine, O'Connor moved one up on the 12th, where he left a six-iron approach stone dead for an eagle, and then completed the job with that birdie on the 17th.
The clinching win for Hermitage came from Bowden, who has decided not to return to college in Texas and, instead, will attend the European Tour pre-qualifying school (stage one) next week. Bowden was one up playing the 18th, but his task was made easier when his opponent, Michael O'Kelly, was forced to reload after his first tee-shot was lost in bushes. With that, Limerick's chance effectively went.
In terms of sheer drama, Castleblayney's victory epitomised the spirit of this annual interclub golf fest. With the Pierce Purcell Shield final delicately poised at two points each, it came down to the middle match involving Castleblayney's Noel Flanagan and Martin Moore against Castletroy's Kieran Punch and Pat McNamara.
One up playing the 18th, but with the Castletroy pair safely on the green in three, Flanagan made an incredibly bold choice when he opted to use a putter from the rough - 20 yards from the green and 35 yards to the flag - for his fourth shot. Imagine if it hadn't come off. It proved to be a wise decision, the ball finishing three inches from the hole.
Although Castletroy had a 25-footer for birdie to force the match into tie holes, the audacity of Flanagan's putt determined there could be only one winner, and the Monaghan club claimed a first national title.
