Mackle nets €70k after turning tables on Murphy

Thomas Mackle picked up €70,000 when he defeated David Murphy by two bowls of odds in the feature score of the Team Emily Benefit at Port Mór-Blackwatertown, Armagh on Saturday.

It emphatically reversed his defeat to Murphy at the same venue in the All-Ireland senior final of 2015. He won the first tip by 40m. Murphy got a poor second and Mackle consolidated his lead. Murphy drove his third to the right. Mackle played his third for Bagnell’s bridge, but it veered left just short of the bridge.

Murphy opened the bridge with a good fourth, Mackle replied with a good one too, but now his lead was just 15m.

Murphy won the lead by three metres with a big fifth shot to Callan’s bend. He held the lead in the next two to McGleenan’s. Mackle regained control when he opened McOskar’s in nine. Murphy played his ninth to the right and missed sight. That slip became very costly when he misplayed his next too and missed Mackle’s tip by 30m to fall a bowl behind.

Mackle increased his lead with a good tenth. Murphy’s next bowl clipped a pothole and was blocked leaving him two bowls adrift. He briefly brought the lead under two with his next. Mackle went out the orchard bend in two more, pushing the lead over two again to firmly shut the door on Murphy.

Darren Santry won a thrilling Fergal Beamish Cup final at The Pike by just two metres from former Cork football star Michéal O’Sullivan.

O’Sullivan shaded good opening shots towards the end of the footpath. He followed with two short ones though and Santry gained a good lead. Those gains were wiped out by a sensational fifth from O’Sullivan towards White’s Cross that brought them dead-level after six to the no-play line there. He got a poor shot from the cross though and Santry hit back with a great bowl to the layby to go a shot clear.

He held his advantage over the bridge and it was still just under a bowl at Draper’s line. Santry then got an absolute miler to take his lead over a bowl and he held that in the next exchange to sight before the novice line. O’Sullivan got another huge one past the novice line to bring the lead under a bowl. Santry defended strongly though and kept his lead close to a bowl in the next two to the last bend.

O’Sullivan then played another sensational bowl that missed the line by just ten metres. Santry missed that to see himself hind by 30m for the last shot. He held his focus though and played a good bowl that touched the right and ran on well. O’Sullivan made a gallant bid to follow but missed by two metres.

William Hobbelink and Silke Tulk are the Dutch senior champions after the final round of the Championstour at Losser on Sunday. This is Hobbelink’s first senior crown, his best four results from six runs, including one win on Sunday, kept him just ahead of Jochem Wennink in second and Patrick Zieverink third. On Sunday he beat the line in seven in his winning score. Tom Kemperink was past the line in seven too when winning the other score.

Silke Tulk was just one shot off the two top men, when she won Sunday’s second score. Lindsay Leussink was second overall, having finished second in all six rounds of the Championstour.

Carlijn Hammink was third. Marianne Westerink won the first of Sunday’s scores.

On Saturday at Port Mór, Éamon Bowen gave Cork a winning start to the Team Emily series when he reversed his All-Ireland intermediate defeat to Conor McGuigan.

Christy Mullins beat Martin Toal in the other significant score of the day. Armagh won both of Sunday’s big scores, Seán Donnelly beating Tim Young and Paul O’Reilly defeating Gary Daly.

Other significant results from the weekend saw Andrew O’Callaghan beat Alex O’Donovan by a bowl at Pouladuff. At Grenagh John Shorten beat PJ Cooney in the last shot. Denis Murphy had two bowls on Eugene Kiernan at Béal na Blá. At the Bog Road Anthony Gould beat Craig Moynihan by two bowls.