Heath’s Doyle stays cool to win Close title

The Heath’s Mary Doyle cruised to a hugely impressive 2 and 1 win over Holywood’s Jessica Carty to lift the Irish Women’s Amateur Close Championship at a sun-kissed Enniscrone.

The 17-year-old international had to work hard to make it to the decider, holing a testing par putt on the 17th to defeat Carlow’s Aedin Murphy 2 and 1 in the semi-finals.

Doyle was unstoppable in the final, building on a sensational start to beat Carty 2 and 1 after the Holywood player earlier sent title favourite Olivia Mehaffey of Royal County Down to her second successive semi-final defeat, with a clear cut 5 and 3 win.

Doyle won the first with a par, the second with a birdie and then claimed the third to go three up in a final played in glorious, benign conditions.

Carty was rattled by that start and lost the par-five fourth to a birdie and the fifth to a par to go five down after five.

A birdie at the sixth was only good enough to give Carty a half and while she won the seventh in birdie and was conceded another winning birdie at the eighth, a half in par at the ninth saw the Ulster player turn three down.

The next three holes were halved in pars before Carty applied some pressure by winning the 12th with another birdie to lie just two down with six to play.

But Doyle took a giant step towards the title by winning the 14th with a conceded birdie to go three up with four to play.

Carty took the 16th in birdie to cut the gap to two holes but Doyle held firm to halve the 17th in par and claim the title.

Irish Women’s Amateur Close, Enniscrone

Semi-finals: Mary Doyle (The Heath) bt Aedin Murphy (Carlow) 2&1. Jessica Carty (Holywood) bt Olivia Mehaffey (Royal Co. Down Ladies) 5&3

Final: Doyle bt Carty 2&1.