Killorglin on course for Munster hat-trick

Killorglin will today aim to land a third national title for Munster clubs at this week’s AIG All-Ireland Cups & Shields National finals when they contest the Jimmy Bruen Shield final against Ulster’s Tandragee at Meath’s Royal Tara GC (10.30am).

The Kerry men came through an epic tussle yesterday with Leinster champions Castlecomer, beating the Kilkenny club 3-2 with the deciding, final match of five foursomes encounters for the higher handicappers going to the 20th hole before Killorglin’s Joe Kennedy and Darragh Carmody overcame David Breen and DamienFogarty to seal victory.

There had been drama throughout with Castlecomer thinking they had ended Leinster’s terrible week on home soil by becoming the first team from their province to reach a final as Tom Coogan and Paul Campion sealed a 1-up victory over Robert Kennedy and Shane Collins in the third match to level the overall score at 2-2 with Breen and Fogarty three up with three to play. Back down the course, however, Killorglin were staging a comeback. Joe Kennedy, the club captain and his partner, club junior captain Carmody won the 16th and 17th to trail by one heading to the last, where Castlecomer cast themselves adrift in the trees down the right of the fairway and were forced to concede the hole.

That took the contest to extra holes and despite their meltdown, Castlecomer’s Breen and Fogarty regrouped on the first tee to go on and square the 19th hole, only for Kennedy and Carmody to capitalise on a pushed drive right from the Leinster champions off the second tee to secure victory with a par. “Drama, drama, and not for the first time this year for Darragh and myself,” Joe Kennedy said. “I think we were three down with four to play and just hit a couple of good balls and I suppose the (Castlecomer) boys came under a bit of pressure a small bit. They had been well on top all day and it was only the last three or four holes that we managed to get on top.”

Killorglin’s opponents Armagh’s Tandragee, crushed Athlone 4½ to ½ in the day’s second semi-final.