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.