Morrow an inspired leader for Portmarnock

YOU might have expected the battle-hardened golfers of Portmarnock to be just a little blasé after winning their 18th Bulmers Irish Senior Cup at Lisburn on Saturday but such was, in fact, far from the case.

Several members of the squad and their manager Eddie Butler were clearly emotional as they looked back on three years in which they lost in the final to Mallow and in the semi-final to Limerick before coming good against the overawed youngsters from Malone. Even though the outcome was never in the slightest doubt, Portmarnock and their supporters made no secret of their delight at this latest triumph.

"This team stuff gets to you," admitted Adrian Morrow, an inspiring leader over a weekend in which he won his matches by margins as wide as 6 and 5 and 4 and 3. It was the stylish veteran's fourth senior cup medal. Eddie Butler had been a visibly disappointed manager over the previous two years, so his relief as much as his delight at finally pulling off the Blue Riband of the Irish club scene was clearly evident.

"I now have the full set, gold, silver and bronze," he said. "And remember it's been a great few days for the Butler family for my wife, Ita, is president of the ILGU and Ireland won the Ladies Home Internationals on Friday."

Butler was loud in his praise of the contribution made by 49-year-old Dermot Snow to the Portmarnock cause. He has been unbeaten in five years of senior cup golf and although neither Dermot nor anybody else is actually sure, it appears that represented 31 matches, more often than not in the crucial anchor position which mean that several were called in.

"It's nice to win without being called in," he pointed out. "I got off to a good start when my opponent, Pat Dean, was in a water hazard at the 1st and found more trouble at the 2nd and I was three up after four."

For Noel Fox, there was understandable relief that not alone the team should have won but that he picked up a point having been beaten the previous day by Athlone's Mark Rowe. Fox learned a less from that reverse.

"I had a no risk game plan in operation today," he admitted. "I played a lot of two and three irons from the tees to make sure of hitting the fairways and it paid off against Karl Gilbert, who is only 16 and a coming player. I enjoy team golf. Last week, it was the Walker Cup. This week it's the Senior Cup, next week the Home Internationals at Ballybunion although after that I'm off to the European Tour School. If I had taken these two weeks off, I would have been only thinking of the Tour School and it was more important and beneficial to keep competing. People might think after the Walker Cup that I had had enough but the other guys on the team are career amateurs and it's so important for them."

Rollo McClure, the Malone captain, hoped that his young side the oldest was 26 might rise to the occasion but it wasn't to be. They had nothing to be ashamed of, however, for few teams could have coped on the day with men like Adrian Morrow, Michael Brett, Niall Goulding, Noel Fox and Dermot Snow in full flight.

If anything, the Jimmy Bruen Shield final was even more one-sided with Castle absolutely romping home against overawed Greenisland. Biggest winners of all were Martin Wilson, the chief executive of the Ulster Bank, and his 15-year-old partner, Anthony Slaughter. They crushed Tim Taggart and Jim Davis by 9 and 7 while Castle also won two other matches at the 13th and 14th. Karl Swaine, also 15, and Tadgh O'Connor, 14, were other members of the triumphant Castle side.

After two days in which the Barton Shield and Junior Cup were decided at the 18th hole in the last match in favour of Banbridge and Skerries and the Pierce Purcell Shield at the 20th for Gort, there was a touch of anti-climax on Saturday. But the national finals remain the greatest festival of amateur club golf in these islands and the next meeting at Shannon in 12 months time is already on many peoples agenda!