Miracles do happen, and they did at Portmarnock Links yesterday. It wasn't just that the early-morning prayers of the Irish Ladies' Golf Union (ILGU) personnel in yellow sweaters were answered to allow a links covered in snow to actually become very playable once a belated thaw set in, but perhaps more the manner in which Maura Morrin defied all the odds to reach the final of the Leinster Women's Open championship, sponsored by MacGregor.
Of course, that final should have taken place last evening. But even miracles don't stretch that far, especially when one semi-final had the temerity to go as far as the 24th hole. Still, it's a sign of the times that Morrin, a player who has effectively gate-crashed the system, and Jenny Gannon, who at 19 is two years younger, will contest the final which has been rescheduled for 9.0 a.m. today.
Morrin earned her ticket into a first major final the hard way, although it seemed an unlikely proposition in the early stages of her semi-final duel with the only non-Leinster player left in the event, Royal County Down's Emma Dickson. Due to the heavy snowfall, the match had been delayed for over two-and-a-half hours; but, when Morrin went four down after five holes, it seemed that some of the time would be made up. Wrong.
Indeed, Morrin and Dickson contrived to produce an extraordinary duel which didn't finish until the pair revisited the sixth green, their 24th hole. "I was a bit nervy at the start," conceded Morrin, "but once I got one back at the sixth, the first time round, I didn't lose another hole. Once we went into extra holes, I never expected to lose."
Such a statement is not founded on cockiness, rather a sign of the new confidence in the Naas player's make-up. A latecomer to golf - she took up the game five years ago - Morrin has made huge strides.
Yesterday, Morrin's recovery started at the sixth hole, but she didn't draw level with Dickson until the 18th, where she made a superb sand save for a winning par. It meant the prospect of extra holes, and a sign of the changing conditions in that Morrin felt it was even colder going down the first fairway than when she'd set out on her journey just over three hours earlier. And, at the sixth tie hole, Morrin replicated her play of earlier in the day when hitting driver, three-wood, nine-iron to 20 feet, and used up the two putts for a winning par.
It ensured a novel pairing. Morrin's late introduction to golf meant she never came into contact with Gannon at junior level, although, ironically, the pair played together regularly in the recent national squad training week in Portugal.
Gannon had a bit of a battle herself, but eventually closed out her Co Louth club-mate Oonagh Purfield on the 18th green for a one-hole win.
Purfield, last year's beaten Irish Close finalist and a member of the Irish team that finished runner-up in the Home Internationals, was two up after four holes. However, Gannon won the sixth and then won back-to-back holes at the 10th and 11th to go ahead.
She went two up at the 14th, but lost the 17th when failing to reach the green off the tee. Gannon, though, closed out the match on the finishing hole to reach the final and set up an intriguing tussle with her training partner of just a couple of week ago.
