Douglas end 35-year wait for Barton Shield glory as Sligo secure first Women's foursomes title
Douglas team celebrate after claiming the Barton Shield
Douglas ended a 35-year wait for AIG Barton Shield glory while Co. Sligo secured a first AIG Women’s Senior Foursomes title for the club on an historic day at Shandon Park.
In two All-Ireland deciders that went right down to the wire, the champions of Munster East and Connacht emerged victorious.
Douglas had booked their place in the Barton Shield final against Royal Dublin after impressive wins over Royal Portrush (6 holes) and Lahinch (4 holes) on Wednesday.
Both teams came into the final hungry for All-Ireland success, with Royal Dublin having last claimed the Barton Shield in 2015, while Douglas were looking to bridge a 35-year gap since their victory at Malone in 1991.
The match was nip and tuck in the early going, with nothing to separate the sides after five holes as Royal Dublin took a 1up lead in the top match and Douglas held the same advantage in the bottom match.
That trend continued into the closing stages, with Royal Dublin holding a slender 1up overall lead. Jack McDonnell and Jonathan Hayden were 2up in their match against Kyle McCarron and Karl Bornemann, while Justin Dennehy and Peter O’Keefe of Douglas were 1up thru 16 in the bottom match.
The Cork side would not be denied however, as Bornemann and McCarron fought back to finish their match all square, leaving the destination of the pennant to be decided in match two.
After Ryan Griffin and Sean Downes won the 17th to bring the match back all square, both sides narrowly missed putts to win the match on 18, forcing a playoff.
The first three playoff holes were halved before Dennehy made his mark. The 15-year-old holed a 20-foot putt from the edge of the fourth green to seal the win and cue huge celebrations from the travelling Cork crowd.
“I was looking at him on the 18th and thought, this is the guy, he’s a magician,” said Coughlan.
“I said, this is what is going to happen, he’s going to hole it, took him another four holes but what a putt he got there. He’s some young fella, he’s outstanding.”
Having been part of the winning side in 1991, it was a full circle moment and an emotional win for Don Coughlan, who has now claimed a Barton Shield pennant as both a player and a team captain.
“I can’t get my buddy Hercs (Donal O’Herlihy) out of my mind,” said Coughlan.
“He was the manager in ’91 and lo and behold, I’m also the manager of a winning team with him. Great friend of mine and he was on my mind.” “Those four lads, they’ve been outstanding. More than anything else they have the heart, they have the soul to stick in when it’s not going your way.
“They’re heroes in Douglas now forever more.” There was further history made in the Women’s Senior Foursomes final as Co. Sligo secured the first All-Ireland title in the club’s history.
The Connacht champions had come through Wexford and Belvoir Park to book their place in the final where they faced defending champions Elm Park.
The top match went the way of Co. Sligo as Jessica Reynolds and McLoughlin secured a 4&3 victory before Elm Park battled back in the bottom match, with Alice Spani-Molella and Caoimhe O’Shea levelling the tie at one apiece with a 6&4 victory.
Molly Sproule and Ailbhe O’Donovan had the Rosses Point side 3up after 10 holes in match two and, despite a strong fightback from Kate Fleming and Jennifer O’Brien, the young Sligo pair held on, with Sproule sealing the win on the 16th.
McLoughlin was thrilled with how her team performed all week and delighted to lead her team to All-Ireland success for the first time.
“Absolutely fantastic. Such a huge team effort. Everyone was going for it and I’m delighted,” said McLoughlin.
“Those two girls (Sproule and O’Donovan) are always out practicing, and it comes down to those fundamentals. I’m just thrilled that they kept their cool because they are young girls and it’s an amazing experience for us.
“We’ve tried in the Senior Cup and we’re just lacking a couple of players, but this experience now, next year we might go for the double”.
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