Tramore treble bid all relative

IT'S a family affair for Tramore GC as they go in search of a rare treble at this weekend's Bulmers Munster finals of the Irish Senior and Junior Cups and Barton Shield at Dungarvan GC.

Michael Bowe is not just President of Tramore this year, he is also convenor of teams and captain of the Senior Cup and Barton Shield teams.

His son Clancy is a member of the Senior Cup and Barton Shield sides.

So too is John Mitchell - and his son David is in the Junior Cup squad.

And to complete the hat-trick, Michael Burns and his son Derek are also involved with the Senior and Junior Cup teams.

"We set out our stall where youth was concerned at the start of the season and the plan has worked out perfectly," said Michael Bowe.

"We have a few seasoned campaigners, like Michael Burns, John Mitchell and Peter Power, but there is also an abundance of promising golfers, especially in the Junior Cup line-up."

The senior side has benefited from the contributions of the Burns family. Michael, the South of Ireland champion in 1980 and a member of the Tramore Senior Cup-Barton Shield double-winning teams at Killarney in 1992, shot seven birdies in winning his East Munster final match against West Waterford's talented left-hander Mark Shanahan by 3 and 2, while Derek has won his four matches to date.

They were also without junior international Clancy Bowe for much of the campaign due to illness, but he is back to strengthen the side.

Tramore's bid for the treble kicks off tomorrow morning when the junior team take on Bandon in the second semi-final, having been preceded on the tee by Dromoland Castle, who have reached this stage for the first time, and Tralee. The final is set for the early afternoon.

The Barton Shield will also be completed tomorrow. The first match involves Ballybunion and Castletroy, and they are followed by Muskerry and Tramore. While Castletroy appear to have the edge in the first match, the clash of Muskerry and Tramore should be a close affair and the Cork club is looking to two of the younger brigade, Niall Turner and David Daly, to see them through. Daly is competing in the Irish Boys Championship in Castlebar and will make the long journey to Dungarvan.

It's a rarity indeed when Cork GC look to an experienced side that includes Pat Lyons and Tom Cleary to cope with Tramore in the first semi-final on Sunday morning, with Killarney and Castletroy meeting in the second match.

Dungarvan are hosting the finals for the first time, with the clubs who practised there throughout the week extolling the virtues of the course.

The par threes have gone down extremely well and the greens on the 6,107 metres, par 72 lay-out at Knocknagranagh have also come in for universal praise.