Douglas to put local knowledge to good use

TOURNAMENT specialists Royal Portrush and Douglas are hopeful of regaining national eminence when the closing stages of the Irish Ladies Senior Cup are played at Cork Golf Club, Little Island, over the next two days.

Douglas first captured the Irish title in 1952 and it was the first of 12 Senior Cup victories between then and 1990 when such great golfers as Zelie Gaynor, Eileen O’Callaghan, Ann Heskin, Girlie Hegarty, Oonagh Fitzpatrick (nee Heskin), Anne O’Brien, Rhona Brennan (nee Hegarty), Clare Keating, Eileen Rose Power (nee McDaid) and Eavan Higgins, to name but a few, were very much to the fore.

Douglas are third in the roll of honour behind Portrush and Milltown while their record in Munster is nothing short of staggering — since 1952 they have been champions on 40 occasions, including an unbroken run of 20 titles between 1964 and 1983.